Immortal Road.

No, this voice seems a little hoarse, making it sound younger and full of youthful energy.
It's Xing Shu Zi!
Lin Shan tried to distinguish it again and again, and he was sure that the old man's voice was the same. Even if he deliberately changed his voice, he could still find clues.

This guy probably already has his own natal star, so why is he competing with me for it?
He didn't understand, but he couldn't stop at this stage. Now that Gang Sha Xing Ni had appeared, he had to get his hands on it no matter what.

The Annihilation Avatar continued bidding over there.

I'll put up seven.

Eight pieces.

The opposing team followed without hesitation, but it seemed there weren't many Star Cultivators on the field, only the two of them spoke up.

Nine.

Ten!

"Eleven."

The Annihilation Avatar was somewhat hesitant, because a mere seventh-tier spiritual material was almost as expensive as the bottom price of an unparalleled divine power. Was this really the case?
The auction house was completely silent as everyone listened to the two bidding against each other. This item was somewhat obscure, and there weren't many people interested in it.

"Eleven purple chips, anyone else want to call?"

The host, Fairy Xiaxi, rang out on stage with her bright voice, but her gaze was focused on a private room, waiting to see if there would be any follow-up.

Xing Shuzi over there also seemed to be hesitating, considering whether it was worth spending so much.

Lin Shan was breathing rapidly and felt a little nervous. He cursed inwardly, "Didn't this old man complain about being poor to me yesterday? How dare he put up ten chips today?"
Don't you want to fix this area anymore? Are you just wasting money on it?
Perhaps hearing the question in his heart, Xing Shuzi weighed the options and chose to give up, and Gang Sha Xing Ni fell into the pocket of the Ji Mie clone as he wished.

"Congratulations to buyer number 43 for winning the Gang Sha Xing Ni with eleven purple chips!"

With her delicate eyebrows arched, Fairy Xiaxi glanced at him with captivating charm, her mature allure truly alluring, stirring the imagination. She then beckoned to bring out the thirty-fourth lot.

Surprisingly, the item above it was also made of seventh-tier star material!
"The thirty-fourth item, Ancient Star Dew, is said by the consignor to be a pure liquid extracted from an ancient star. It can be used for alchemy, cultivating star arts and supernatural powers, or opening and expanding star apertures to enhance star power cultivation, etc. Starting price: five purple chips. Bidding begins!"

"."

The scene became deserted for a moment; the previous item had already shown that basically no one was interested in this.

Lin Shan was stunned for a moment. He just needed to reshape his natal star, and then the Gang Sha Star Mud appeared. He just needed to re-expand his own star aperture, and then the Ancient Star Dew appeared! What a coincidence?

However, there was no time to think about it, as the Annihilation Avatar had already spoken.

I'll put up five.

As expected, Hoshino, that persistent pest, started following up again.

Six.

I'll put up seven.

Eight pieces.

The clone of Nirvana was now at a loss, unsure whether to follow or not, or whether to help the main body continue to snatch the prize.

Lin Shan suddenly realized something was wrong!
Xing Shuzi cultivates his natal star, so it's understandable for him to compete with himself for the Gang Sha Star Mud, but why would you compete for the expansion of the star aperture?
Could it be that you, like me, cultivate both the ancient and modern paths of star cultivation, refining stars and playing with star apertures?

This is impossible!

In an instant, he realized that the two items on the auction stage could have been consigned by that old man himself.
So you're deliberately inflating prices to rip me off?
at this time.

In VIP room number 66, Xing Shuzi was staring intently at VIP room number 43 with a tense expression. His trembling hands betrayed his excitement, and he kept muttering to himself.

"Hurry up and bid! Hurry up and bid!"

That's right, he sent both of those items to us for auction!

He also recognized the voice of the Silent Annihilation Avatar. This game was originally set up specifically for Lin Shan. He knew that the Silent Annihilation Daoist was in cahoots with that kid and would definitely help him bid.

There were only two star cultivators in the entire room. Who else could produce such star materials besides his family, whose ancestors had produced star lords?
Ever since he made the deal with Lin Shan at the restaurant, handing over the entire Star Cultivation inheritance to him, he had been planning the follow-up to this auction to make money off him.

After all, they run a black market; their people are ruthless, and their hearts are even more so!
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, your money goes into my pocket~
As long as the price is raised, the more money the Annihilation Avatar spends, the more you earn. Then you can use the Annihilation Avatar's money to buy domain repair-related items and compete with the Annihilation Avatar in reverse!
This is quite a clever scheme, which explains why they didn't go to Yibaolou to have Lin Shan consign the item for auction yesterday, but instead went to Ziling Chamber of Commerce to do so – it was all to trick their ally!
Of course, it's also because the other party is competing with me for the most valuable treasures in the field, so I first throw out star materials to deplete the other party's resources, and then transfer them to my own hands to steal them.

Lin Shan unknowingly fell into the trap!

He wasn't the only one with discerning eyes on the field.

In private room number 74, two elderly men sat together, enjoying tea and observing the scene.

Elder Huang's eyes were sharp as an eagle's, and he had already guessed the identities of the two.

"Among the Void Realm cultivators of Qiyun Ridge, there are only Zhong Shenxiu and Xing Shuzi. Now these two are fighting fiercely here, which has exposed them to us. I will trouble Brother Chuyun to investigate them later."

"Don't worry, it can't escape!"

Elder Chuyun sneered, having seen through the trick at a glance.

"Those two must be at odds with each other, which is why they deliberately inflated the price. If I'm not mistaken, the star material on stage is something one of them consigned for auction!"

"Oh?"

Elder Huang hadn't considered this before, but now that he looked back, he realized it was true. Only Star Cultivators had access to Star Materials for auction, so one of the two must have been setting a trap!

Having lived for so long, Elder Chuyun had seen all sorts of storms and waves. He immediately saw through the other party's performance and secretly ordered his subordinates to investigate rooms number 43 and 66.

He wanted to let them know that throwing out the star material was actually dragging both of them into the water, giving him the opportunity to catch them all in one fell swoop!

Lin Shan realized something was wrong and quickly figured it out. This Xing Shuzi was dishonest; he deliberately sold me a trap.

Did they trick me with sweet talk?
You call yourself an ally? How can you betray your allies like this?!
Outside, Fairy Xiaxi had already started calling out the time, indicating that the process was still ongoing.

"Eight coins, bidder number sixty-six has offered eight coins, is anyone else bidding?"

"Eight at a time."

"Eight shots, twice."

The Annihilation Avatar couldn't hold back and interrupted the other party.

Nine!

This time, he was determined: if Xing Shuzi continued to follow him, he wouldn't participate in the filming! He'd let the guy reap what he sowed; at worst, he wouldn't care.
He swallowed his anger, thinking that he could just take advantage of the old man and steal the Ancient Star Dew from him later!
However, he was clearly overthinking it.

Xing Shuzi didn't follow this time, but remained silent throughout. He clearly realized that going too far would be counterproductive, and if he dared to throw out ten chips, they would likely be stuck with them. So he didn't dare to continue to drive up prices.

"Congratulations to Box 43! You have won the seventh-tier star material, Ancient Star Dew, with nine purple chips!"

The host smiled and banged the gavel, ordering someone to take the items away.

Although the crowd remained silent, they were secretly shaking their heads. A seventh-grade spiritual material was being contested by only two star cultivators, yet the price was approaching the starting price of a supreme divine ability—clearly, they had overpaid. "Item thirty-fifth, seventh-grade spiritual material, Crimson Flame Star Liquid, extracted from the primordial liquid within the Crimson Flame Starfire, usable for alchemy and body tempering. Starting price: five purple chips. Bidding begins!"

The entire room fell silent; everyone was speechless. Was it Sungjae again?

Why don't you just bundle these three items together and sell them as a package?

The Purple Spirit Merchant Guild disagreed, saying that selling them separately would fetch a higher price, and selling them in bundles would result in a loss, as if they were selling cabbages.

Surprisingly, no one made a bid this time!
The previously fiercely contested boxes 43 and 66 were now completely silent, as if they were uninterested in the situation.

The scene became rather awkward, and an eerie atmosphere filled the air.

Xing Shuzi, sitting in the private room, was on pins and needles. He waited for the Daoist of Nirvana to make a bid, and for the Venerable Xiong Shan to speak. Could it be that these two were not interested in this item?

impossible!

This is clearly a family heirloom that can effectively assist star cultivators in body tempering. Even if the other party has a better body tempering technique, it is impossible for them not to be tempted by a seventh-grade star material.
Even Fairy Xiaxi on the stage was a little embarrassed at this moment, annoyed that the appraiser of the Purple Spirit Chamber of Commerce was doing nothing but auctioning three unpopular materials one by one!

There were only a handful of Star Cultivators to begin with, so you could have bundled them together for sale. What if they fail to sell at auction?
Could it be that some items will fail to sell on my very first day?

"Seventh-grade spiritual material, Crimson Flame Star Liquid, this is a rare treasure. It is said that it has no origin in the Immortal Realm and can only be produced in the celestial star fields. Fellow alchemists and star cultivators, you must not miss this opportunity. No one is bidding?"

While she was warming up the crowd, little did she know that Lin Shan was deliberately waiting there.

Without even a second thought, it's definitely something that Hoshino Koko consigned for auction!

In order to accumulate enough chips to compete for the next domain treasure, he actually sold off all the family property passed down from his ancestral star lord family. What a waste!
But this is for the best, as it benefits him, the one who was promoted.

But the two previous malicious bids caused him to lose a lot of chips. Who could swallow such a humiliation?

So this time I simply didn't bid and just let things drag on.

On the other side, Hoshino was indeed extremely anxious, wondering if she had gone too far earlier and been noticed for being too deliberate.

Could it really be a case of "stuck in our hands, turning a clever trick into a disaster"?

On stage, Fairy Xiaxi frowned, looking quite pitiful. She glanced slightly at a corner where a Void Realm cultivator from the Purple Spirit Merchant Guild was in charge of covering the costs of the auction.

If they see items failing to sell at auction, they will have their own people buy them to save face for the Chamber of Commerce.

This is a last resort.

"Crimson Flame Star Liquid, fellow Daoists, are you sure you have no interest? If you don't make a move soon, I'll have to declare it a failed auction."

The next moment, both private rooms placed bids simultaneously!

I'll put up five.

I'll put up five!

The host's eyes lit up. The two private rooms were the long-awaited number 43 and number 99, which was guaranteed by the Purple Spirit Chamber of Commerce. Without a doubt, the former would be the better choice!

"Fellow Daoist number forty-three rang the bell first and won the bid. Would the other fellow Daoist like to follow suit?"

"."

The people in VIP room number 99 remained silent. They were only there to cover for them in critical moments and didn't actually need the item, so they wouldn't deliberately inflate the price.

Xing Shuzi in box number 66 finally breathed a sigh of relief. "You almost hurt my back, kid. I knew you couldn't resist the temptation. Were you playing me before?"
He looked suspicious and wanted to ring the bell to raise the price, because the starting price was a bit low, but he was hesitant to make a move.

If the other party gets angry and refuses to accept it, then they've really shot themselves in the foot!
While he hesitated for a long time, Fairy Xiaxi on the stage, fearing that things might change if she waited too long, simply struck the gavel three times to finalize the matter.

"Congratulations to fellow Daoist in Box 43 for winning the Crimson Flame Star Liquid with five purple chips!"

As the dust settled, Lin Shan's lips curled into a slight smile.

Old man, you still want to swindle my money and compete with me for the ultimate treasure? No way!

You're doomed if I don't do it now!

On stage, Fairy Xiaxi continued to host, and one item after another was sold in the back row, raising the atmosphere and intensifying the competition, as the prices dropped as the items went down, and everyone had the opportunity to get a piece of the action.

As the thirty-fifth item came up to the forty-eighth, all of them were various kinds of seventh-grade spiritual materials. Finally, the long-awaited treasure arrived!
"Item number forty-nine, the Boundary Heart Stone, contains pure spatial power. It can be used to refine Xuan Tian Cave Heaven spiritual treasures or to build a Tuo Rong Cave Void stage domain. Starting price: four chips. Bidding begins!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a crowd of people responded, and the sound of bells rang out in unison.

I'll play four!

Five!

Six!

Seven!

Lin Shan and his clone Ji Mie also participated in ringing the bell in the private room, but when it was his turn, all the dozen or so people in front of him gave up, because the price had reached seven chips, exceeding the market price of five.

After thinking it over, I realized that both I and my clone needed to reach the peak of their domains. The materials I had previously acquired were probably not enough. I should try to acquire them whenever possible, lest I miss out on the treasures and regret it later.

Eight!

As he made his bid, Fairy Xiaxi on the stage continued to inquire.

"Box number 43 has bid eight coins. Any more? Any more?"

The person in VIP room number 66 promptly rang the bell.

Nine!

Alright, alright, you old codger, Xing Shuzi, is it really necessary for allies to act like this? Don't you still want to get revenge together later?
Lin Shan was so angry he was grinding his teeth. How could he not be furious with such a terrible teammate!

Such good chips have been wasted by your own people, making money for nothing for the Purple Spirit Chamber of Commerce. Are you out of your mind?
Xing Shuzi, however, sneered in the private room.

It's incredibly difficult for you to lend me some money, kid. You have no idea how much I helped you when I started my black market. You have no gratitude at all, so don't blame me for fighting you to the death at the auction!
Everyone bids based on their wealth; the richest person wins!

You've just spent a lot of resources on three star materials, haven't you? Do you still have the strength to compete with me now?
He was smug, secretly thinking that his plan had succeeded. This move of sacrificing a pawn to save the king was a temporary expedient. Although he was reluctant to sell those star materials, the most urgent thing was to restore the domain. Nothing was more important than that.

Just as Lin Shan was getting annoyed and wondering whether to continue, a bell suddenly rang out from the side, its sound loud and clear.

"Ten chips!"

A loud shout startled the two of them, and they both turned to look.

The person who made the bid is from VIP box number 74.
Elder Huang? (End of Chapter)