My CEO Bai Fumei’s wife

Qin Yu took out the Soul Purifying Elixir from his storage ring and placed it on the table. He then took out a jade slip that contained a copy of the Western Underworld Secret Records catalog.

Meng Qianyun reached her hand towards the bottle of the Soul Purifying Elixir, and was stunned when she probed it with her spiritual power.

"This is genuine, the authentic Soul Purifying Elixir, worth at least a thousand spirit crystals."

"The bottle at tomorrow's auction is fake; it only has 30% of the medicinal effect. Whoever pays a high price to buy it will be unlucky."

When Meng Qianyun put down the spiritual liquid, her fingers were trembling, not from fear, but from being shocked by Qin Yu's courage and calculation ability.

"You replaced Wanbaoge's prized auction item with a fake. Where does that leave Wanbaoge's reputation?"

"By the time they find out, I'll no longer be in Tian Shu City. What does it matter to me whether I have any shame or not?"

These words left Meng Qianyun speechless. She had followed Huang Lingtian for over a hundred years and had seen countless ruthless people, but none of them were ruthless enough to dare to switch the auction items in the secret room of Wanbaoge.

She also read the contents of the jade slip, including the map of the islands surrounding the Western Nether Sea and the complete catalog entries. Qin Yu marked the fourteenth item, Nether Island, with his spiritual power.

"You need to go to the Netherworld Island to retrieve the Soul-Returning Herb."

"We're not going now, we'll go later. Let's get Kui Hong cured first."

Qin Yu put away the Soul Purifying Elixir and the jade slip, leaned against the headboard, and closed his eyes.

"Tomorrow, you will enter normally, sit in the Xuan Yin Sect's seats, do not bid on anything, do not say anything, and go straight back to the inn after the auction."

"how about you."

"I'll go watch the fun too."

The second day in Tian Shu City was even more bustling than the day before. The three main streets were packed with people, and spirit boats filled the sky above the city like swarms of locusts. There was a two-mile-long queue at the entrance of the Wanbaoge auction hall.

Meng Qianyun entered through the main gate as Elder Meng of the Xuan Yin Sect. After her jade token was verified, she was led to the seventeenth row of Section A.

Wearing the Thousand Machine Veil and using the face of a merchant, Qin Yu entered through the cultivator's passage and sat in the very back corner of Zone B.

Ye Qingxue stayed at the inn to take care of Kui Hong, while Zhu Zhen, Xiao Long, and Kui Wu in the spirit tower were all sealed and could not be released.

The auction hall is divided into three areas: Area A is for representatives of sects, Area B is for independent cultivators, and the third floor is for VIP rooms. Each room is soundproofed and people inside cannot be seen from the outside.

The auctioneer was an elderly man at the peak of the Golden Core stage, whose voice could penetrate every corner of the hall.

The first ten items had nothing to do with Qin Yu; various spiritual artifacts and elixirs were auctioned off for considerable prices, and the atmosphere in the room gradually heated up.

Just after the twelfth item was auctioned off, a group of people walked in through the side door of the hall.

The uniforms of the Thunder God Sect were worn by Lei Ming, who was leading the group, followed by four core members of the Demon Extermination Team.

When Lei Ming sat down in the fifth row of Section A, he glanced around the room, paused for two breaths at the Xuan Yin Sect seats, and then looked away.

But his deputy leaned over and whispered something in his ear, and Lei Ming's posture shifted slightly, leaning forward half an inch.

The deputy said: The young man with the minotaur we met at the city checkpoint yesterday matched the physical description of Blood Fiend on the wanted poster in several ways.

The face drawn on the wanted poster is wrong because of the Thousand Machine Veil, but body shape, height, and age cannot fool a careful person.

Lei Ming didn't make a sound. He began to use his divine sense to scan the rows of unaffiliated cultivator seats in Zone B.

When the fifteenth item was put up for auction, a senior manager from Wanbaoge walked up to Meng Qianyun.

The steward bent down and spoke in a low voice, but the representatives from the nearby sects could still hear him.

"Elder Meng, Wanbaoge has noticed recently that Xuan Yin Sect has lost all external communication. We wonder if something has happened to the sect. If needed, we can provide assistance."

Meng Qianyun controlled her expression well, maintaining a dignified demeanor with a touch of reserve.

"Thank you for your concern. The sect leader is currently in seclusion, attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. To avoid disturbing him, he has temporarily closed off external communication. Everything is as usual."

The steward nodded and retreated, lingering for a second glance at Meng Qianyun's face before leaving.

That one glance wasn't out of belief, it was out of registration.

Wanbaoge didn't inquire because they knew the Xuan Yin Sect had been destroyed. News takes time to spread; it's at least a two-day journey from the Xuan Yin Sect to Tian Shu City, and it's impossible for the disciples to have gotten the news here so quickly after they scattered. The person who truly alerted Wanbaoge was Qian Tongshen.

Although Qian Tongshen ran away after being robbed, it was impossible for the manager of Wanbaoge to not report to headquarters after losing 200,000 spirit crystals. He sent a briefing through secret channels, which mentioned that Xue Sha had a pig demon and a minotaur by his side.

After Wanbaoge's intelligence department matched this information with the wanted notice, they also discovered that a representative of the Xuan Yin Sect had appeared at the auction.

Blood Fiend has been active in Qingyun Prefecture recently, and the Xuan Yin Sect is also in Qingyun Prefecture; the time and place match up perfectly.

After the two lines intersected, Wanbaoge did not take immediate action but instead chose to probe.

Qin Yu sat in a corner of Zone B. When Lei Ming's divine sense swept over him, his breathing didn't even change a beat. The Thousand-Machine Veil disguised his aura as that of a small merchant in the early stage of Foundation Establishment. This level of cultivation was commonplace among the rogue cultivators. Lei Ming's divine sense lingered on him for less than half a breath before moving on.

The auction continued, and from the sixteenth to the twenty-ninth item, Qin Yu didn't raise his paddle even once.

When the thirtieth item was brought to the stage, Qin Yu was playing with a spirit stone he had taken from the Heavenly Mystery Sect.

The auctioneer's voice rang out.

"Lot number 30, a fire-attribute spirit sword, of medium to high quality, starting bid 1,000 spirit crystals."

The moment the spirit sword was taken out of its case and displayed, the spirit stone in Qin Yu's hand shattered.

It wasn't crushed; it was just that his fingers tightened unconsciously with force.

The sword's scabbard had a very small mark engraved on it, so small that even people sitting in the front row of Section A might not notice it, but Qin Yu's eyesight was better than that of 99% of the people present.

The symbol of the Qingfeng Sect.

The circle formed by the three bamboo leaves was a design he created himself.

The Qingfeng Sect was a sect he founded in the secular Kunlun Mountains, named after his grandfather, Qin Qingfeng.

How did this sword end up at an auction in Wudi City?

"Two thousand spirit crystals."

Someone in the audience held up a sign; it belonged to a representative from an unknown minor sect.

"two thousand."

Another rogue cultivator followed.

"Three thousand."

A voice came from the VIP room on the third floor, saying that the price had been nearly doubled.

The room erupted in discussion. A fire-attribute spirit sword of medium to high quality would normally be worth no more than two thousand spirit crystals on the market, and a price of three thousand spirit crystals was already more than 60% over the markup.

No one else is bidding against us.

But the noise inside the VIP room didn't stop.

"Five thousand spirit crystals."

The entire room fell silent.

A sword originally priced at 1,000 spirit crystals was bid up to 5,000 spirit crystals. This wasn't an auction; it was throwing money around.

Qin Yu leaned back in his chair, his gaze passing through the hall and landing on the soundproofed private room on the third floor.

The people in the private room couldn't see it, but Qin Yu had already confirmed one thing.

This person knows whose sect the Qingfeng Sect belongs to.

There's only one explanation for spending 5,000 spirit crystals on a sword that costs 1,000 spirit crystals: this sword isn't an auction item, it's bait.

The fish I caught was a Blood Demon.

If Qin Yu reacts to the sword in any way—whether by raising a paddle or taking a second look—it will expose his connection to the Qingfeng Sect, allowing the people in the VIP room to confirm that Xue Sha is present at the auction. (End of Chapter)