Devouring Soul Emperor

"Everyone, the next item up for auction is a hundred-year-old Golden Blood Ginseng!"

"Golden Blood Ginseng is a top-tier Tier Two Spiritual Medicine, and a hundred-year-old specimen is exceptionally rare!"

"Whether used for medicinal purposes or kept as a collector’s item, it holds extremely high value!"

"Enough idle talk. The starting price for this hundred-year-old Golden Blood Ginseng is two thousand Middle Grade Primordial Stones!"

"Let the bidding begin!"

Two thousand Middle Grade Primordial Stones!

Chu Qingyun’s heart skipped a beat. Although he had braced himself, he never expected a Tier Two Spiritual Medicine to be so expensive.

After the starting price was announced, people began calling out bids one after another.

Two thousand two hundred stones.

Two thousand three hundred stones.

Two thousand five hundred stones.

...

Although the increments were small, the price quickly surpassed three thousand.

However, once it passed three thousand Middle Grade Primordial Stones, the bidding slowed considerably, with increases coming in paltry increments of a few dozen at a time.

’Damn it, damn it all! Why is the price rising so fast?’

’Stop, just stop...’

Watching bidder after bidder call out a price, Chu Qingyun wished he could rush over and clamp their mouths shut.

’This is bad. I can’t let this continue.’

Chu Qingyun’s eyes hardened, and he called out his own bid, "Three thousand three hundred stones!"

His sudden jump of over two hundred stones instantly stunned the crowd. For a moment, no one else made a bid.

"Three thousand three hundred stones!"

"Bidder number 1243 from Section C has bid three thousand three hundred! Are there any higher bids? This is a once-in-a-lifetime Golden Blood Ginseng, with immense collection value!"

The auctioneer shouted, brandishing his small gavel.

However, three thousand Middle Grade Primordial Stones was the mental limit for many people.

Three thousand three hundred instantly extinguished the hopes of many, and for a while, no one else bid.

’Phew, it’s finally stopped...’ Chu Qingyun thought to himself.

If he had let them continue to slowly drive up the price bit by bit, it might have surpassed even three thousand three hundred Middle Grade Primordial Stones.

But by directly calling out a high price, putting on an air of absolute determination, Chu Qingyun had naturally scared them off.

"Three thousand three hundred and thirty..."

An old man, whose teeth looked like they were about to fall out, shakily raised his placard and called out.

"Three thousand five hundred stones!"

Before the auctioneer could even speak, Chu Qingyun bid again, raising the price by nearly two hundred stones once more. He shot a vicious glare at the old man.

Seeing Chu Qingyun’s fierce gaze, the old man shrank back and shook his head. "Too expensive, too expensive. I’m out, I’m out..."

BANG!

"Congratulations to our customer, bidder number 1243 from Section C, for successfully winning the hundred-year-old Golden Blood Ginseng for three thousand five hundred Middle Grade Primordial Stones!"

The auctioneer’s gavel fell, and Chu Qingyun’s heart could finally rest.

Three thousand five hundred Middle Grade Primordial Stones had drained all of Chu Qingyun’s money. When he left, he probably wouldn’t even have enough to pay for a room at an inn...

With no money in his pockets, Chu Qingyun’s interest in the rest of the auction waned. He watched the remainder with the detached curiosity of a spectator.

Meanwhile, Qian Sanpang, who sat beside him, was completely preoccupied with the Vermilion Bird’s aura on Chu Qingyun and had no interest in the auction either.

"Ahem, little brother, something major happened in the Cold Cyan Mountain Range outside the city recently. Did you hear about it?"

Qian Sanpang said, trying to start a conversation.

"Something major? What is it?"

These past few days, Chu Qingyun had been hiding from the Blood Wolf Gang in his inn room, so he hadn’t heard about any major events.

"Heh heh, it’s not really a secret, the news is everywhere. I’ll just tell you." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"The tomb of a Martial King expert has been discovered in the Cold Cyan Mountain Range! They say it belongs to a Martial King who came from Qingshan City a thousand years ago, Canglang King!"

Qian Sanpang lowered his voice and spoke with great excitement, a strange glint of a smile in his eyes.

The tomb of a Martial King expert!

Chu Qingyun’s eyes went wide instantly.

In Qingshan City, even a Martial Master was considered a powerful figure. A Martial Spirit, who surpassed Martial Masters, was a rank only the City Lord himself had achieved.

As for a Martial King, that was a legendary existence that no one had ever seen!

"Heh heh, shocked, aren’t you? Even I was stunned."

"A Martial King expert! Even in Great Yuan County City, that’s a supreme powerhouse! An existence that could destroy Qingshan City with a flip of their hand!"

"A single leg hair from such an expert is probably thicker than our waists."

"If we could get our hands on even a little something from that tomb, we’d be set for life! It could completely change our destiny!"

Qian Sanpang said with a low chuckle, ducking his head.

"If the tomb was discovered days ago, hasn’t it been looted clean already?" Chu Qingyun asked curiously.

Qian Sanpang shook his head. "The ruins left behind by a Martial King expert are never that simple."

"There’s a powerful seal on the tomb. Although a thousand years have passed and it’s weakening, it can’t be broken in a short amount of time."

"And let me tell you a real secret."

"I heard that a Martial King Level expert already came from Great Yuan County City to investigate. There’s a very powerful Restriction inside the tomb that prevents experts at the Martial Master Level and above from entering."

"If an expert at the Martial Master Level or above enters, the tomb will collapse, and no one will get anything."

Chu Qingyun shrugged and said, "If even Martial Master Level experts are going, how could a minor Martial Artist like me dare to get in on the action?"

"Heh heh, not necessarily. There’s still some time before the tomb opens. Who knows, maybe you’ll break through and become a Martial Master by then."

"Besides, if you’re not strong enough, you can just go in with a powerful expert you know."

Qian Sanpang said with a grin.

This, in fact, was his true goal. He wanted to use the Martial King’s Tomb to get Chu Qingyun to seek out the Vermilion Bird and lure it out.

"I don’t know any powerful experts."

Chu Qingyun pursed his lips and said.

Fatty Qian wasn’t in a hurry either and just kept chuckling.

The temptation of a Martial King’s Tomb... he didn’t believe anyone could resist the temptation of a Martial King’s Tomb.

He had received intel that not only were Martial Master experts from nearby cities on their way, but even the Four Great Clans of Great Yuan County City had dispatched teams to Qingshan City.

He was afraid that once the Vermilion Bird learned of this, it wouldn’t be able to resist going in either!

The auction ended in the evening. Chu Qingyun bid farewell to Qian Sanpang and was led away by an attendant to settle his bill.

Sitting with Qian Sanpang, his Devouring Martial Soul was constantly throbbing, making him feel very uncomfortable.

When paying, Chu Qingyun took out the thirty-four Upper Grade Primordial Stones he had just obtained, then added over sixty Middle Grade Primordial Stones, and finally used Lower Grade Primordial Stones to barely scrape together the equivalent of three thousand five hundred Middle Grade Primordial Stones.

Several attendants standing nearby covered their mouths to stifle their giggles.

For a rare moment, Chu Qingyun’s face flushed red. He grabbed the brocade box and walked out quickly.

After returning to the inn, Chu Qingyun eagerly opened the brocade box, took out the Golden Blood Ginseng, and prepared to cultivate the Celestial Profound Divine Pattern.