Immortal Road.

Lin Shan and Xing Shuzi never expected that Elder Huang would intervene at the crucial moment!

No, do you, a veteran Void Realm expert, need this?
"Hmph, two fools fighting amongst themselves, you still want to restore your domain? Did I allow you to restore it?"

In VIP room number 74, Elder Huang's wrinkled face rippled, and his smile brought out the deep lines at the corners of his eyes, making him look incredibly fierce!

Now that they've become mortal enemies, they certainly won't sit idly by and watch them recover.

Previously, Xing Shuzi's attempt to outsmart Lin Shan backfired, as her attempt to deplete Lin Shan's resources through auctioning Xing Cai inadvertently revealed their positions.

There were only the two of them present. Elder Huang easily located their private room, but did not make any rash moves.

Now, seeing their prized possession in the competitive arena, it has finally fallen from the sky and delivered a stunning blow, directly shattering their hopes!

Ten purple chips, worth twice their original market value. Let's see if you'll buy them.
Inside VIP room number 66, Xing Shuzi stood there dumbfounded!
Completely stunned by this move, he realized that the hunter had been preyed upon by the hunted. He, who ran a black market, had been betrayed and was now speechless.

Lin Shan, who was in the other private room, was so angry that he laughed.

That lousy teammate Xing Shuzi! She pretended to be sweet to trick me before, and now look what's happened! We're both being watched, and nobody can take pictures of us anymore!
Ten chips. I'm not some rich tycoon, whoever wants them can have them.

On stage, Fairy Xiaxi was clearly surprised, seemingly knowing who was sitting in box number 74, and repeatedly confirmed it by raising her small gavel.

"Number 74 has ten coins drawn, is anyone else following suit?"

Lin Shan and Xing Shuzi remained silent, knowing that the other party was wealthy and they were no match for them. In addition, the price exceeded their expectations, so they let Elder Huang take the item.

"Bang~ Congratulations to fellow Daoist number seventy-four for winning the Boundary Heart Stone with ten chips."

With a decisive strike of the gavel, Fairy Xiaxi seemed to sense something, glancing subtly at the three private rooms before moving on to the next item in the auction.

Inside box number 74.

Elder Chuyun held a cup of tea in his hands and smiled as he pointed at Fairy Xiaxi on the stage.

"I've watched this girl grow up since she was a child. She's clever, quirky, and incredibly smart. She's probably already guessed what's going on between us."

"Oh? This is only once. I didn't lay a hand on those two before. How did she figure it out?"

Elder Huang was slightly surprised, but he didn't take it to heart.

Everything was a normal transaction, reasonable and compliant, and no one could find fault with it.

Once we cut off their supplies and prevent them from repairing their territory, we can find out their identities, use our privileges to expel them from the market, and then do whatever we want with them once they're outside.

A person walked into the private room.

"Reporting to the elder, the matter has been investigated and clarified."

Elder Izumo turned around and asked him to report on the spot.

"The person in box number 66 is indeed Xing Shuzi, and the person in box number 43 is named Jie Mie Daoren. They entered the auction house through the channels of Zi Ling Chamber of Commerce and Yi Bao Lou, respectively."

"The Daoist of Nirvana!"

Elder Huang became agitated and stood up abruptly, clenching his fists tightly.

"That's right, it's him! This kid didn't use the name Zhong Shenxiu, but instead used the alias of the Daoist of Nirvana. The person bidding in that private room is either him or his clone!"

"Fellow Daoist Huang, please sit down and calm down."

Elder Izumo smiled and poured him a cup of tea.

"See, the truth is now clear! If we had known it was this simple, we wouldn't have had to offend this person and that person in the first place."

"Brother Chuyun, I didn't mean to..."

"Alright, now that we've found Zhong Shenxiu, the plan remains the same. You're in charge of alerting him, and I'll handle everything behind the scenes to make sure he doesn't escape this time!"

Elder Huang's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed the words back.

He was afraid that Zhong Shenxiu would sell the True Spirit Feather, but he couldn't say it out loud. He had to keep it a secret from his old friend, so he could only keep quiet about it.

Elder Izumo smiled throughout, already knowing everything but pretending to be oblivious. These two allies were also scheming against each other.

He had already learned through inside information from Qiyunling that there were no True Spirit Feathers at this auction, and all the auction lists were already on his desk.

This shows that the kid never intended to sell!
That's perfect. We can spare his life until the trade fair ends, then we'll have plenty of ways to deal with him.

The auction is still ongoing outside.

When the process reached the sixtieth item, the second supreme treasure of the realm arrived as scheduled.

"Void Soft Iron, soft iron naturally condensed in the turbulent void of outer space, possesses the characteristics of high-temperature vaporization and low-temperature solidification. When used in the Void Transformation stage, it can be expanded and contracted to adjust its shape, exhibiting great ductility. Starting price: three chips. Bidding begins!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the various private rooms in the air began to place their bids again.

Three!

Four!

Five!

Six.

The Annihilation Avatar and Star Pivot Child were also frantically ringing the bell, but unfortunately there were too many participants on the field, and by the time it was their turn, they had already reached a high position.

To participate, one must either outbid the previous bidder or, like most others, regretfully withdraw from the auction.

The Annihilation Avatar made its move directly.

Seven!

The others gave up immediately upon hearing this, but Xing Shuzi refreshed the price without hesitation when it was his turn.

Eight!

Before Lin Shan could finish off this useless teammate, Elder Huang's booming voice once again rang out from VIP room number 74, drowning out all the noise in the room.

Ten!

"."

This really stunned everyone!
Lin Shan quieted down, Xing Shuzi quieted down, and all the Void Transformation cultivators gave up the competition, having no choice but to helplessly concede.

It's not that they can't afford it, but that the price far exceeds their expectations.

Keep in mind that this was only the first day of a major trade fair, and the first auction.

What if you run out of chips too early? What will you do later?
Elder Huang's extravagant spending sparked speculation among others, but most did not connect it with Lin Shan and Xing Shuzi, because in everyone's eyes they were competitors, except that Room 74 was a bit more extravagant.

Fairy Xiaxi struck the gavel to confirm the ownership of the treasure and paid no attention to this little incident.

Once lot number 68 found a buyer, all items of rank 7 and above in this auction were sold out. Next up were rank 6 spiritual items.

"Lot 69, Flowing Void Cleansing Divine Grass, a sixth-tier spiritual herb, grows in underground wetlands nourished by the Heavenly River. It can assist Nascent Soul cultivators in breaking through to the second step of the Void Transformation Realm and cleansing themselves of worldly dust! Starting price: 100 blue chips. Bidding begins."

"one hundred!"

"I'll offer 120."

One hundred and forty.

"One hundred and five."

"Five hundred!" The Nascent Soul stage cultivators below erupted in cheers!

After waiting for a long time, having been preoccupied with watching the Void Realm experts bid, it was finally their turn to take center stage and begin bidding to their heart's content on the treasures they coveted.

Among them were some nouveau riche whose real net worth was comparable to that of a Void Realm cultivator. Placing them in the Primordial Spirit Realm would be a dimensional reduction attack, and the atmosphere at the scene was far more enthusiastic than before.

Inside the suspended private room, none of the Void Realm experts spoke, clearly too lazy to lower themselves to compete with the juniors for food.

While the Flowing Void Cleansing Divine Grass is indeed precious, they have already broken through to the Void Realm and have no need for it. If their descendants want it, they can go and fight for it themselves.

Lin Shan noticed that in the deafeningly loud scene, more than half of the Void Realm cultivators in the private rooms had begun to gradually leave. Obviously, today's auction was over for them, and there was no need for them to stay here.

The doors to VIP room number 66 opened early, and a small, thin old man, wrapped up tightly, emerged from the back of the hall, looking around. Sure enough, it was Xing Shuzi!

When the door to VIP room number 74 opened, Elder Huang and Elder Chuyun came out. Without any attempt to conceal their identities, they went to the back hall to collect the items they had won in the auction.

Even before leaving, Elder Huang turned back and smiled at the 43rd private room where the Annihilation Avatar was, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Lin Shan remained silent. Openly vying for a domain treasure at the auction meant that the two sides had already broken off relations and were playing their cards openly, making this situation unsolvable.

However, temporary forbearance does not mean that one is willing to admit defeat.

It's only the first day, what's the rush?
Even if you are a seasoned expert with a lot of wealth, how long can you last if you continue to squander it without restraint?

If you invest all your resources in unrelated areas, you'll regret it when you finally find something you really like but can't afford it!

After most of the people had left, he and his Nirvana clone each emerged.

In order not to attract attention.

He first went to the back hall, found the monk in charge of the payment, and used his internal channels to pay the money for the Nirvana clone, thus enjoying a 5% discount and waiving the handling fee.

"Senior, are you sure you want to pay for someone else?"

"Stop talking nonsense and get your job done."

The monk bowed his head and quickly agreed.

"The 43rd VIP room has purchased three items: Gang Sha Star Mud, Ancient Chen Star Dew, and Crimson Flame Star Liquid, for a total of 24 purple chips. The transaction will be waived, and you will receive 23 chips after the discount."

Lin Shan quickly paid the chips and left without looking back.

After a while, the Annihilation Avatar entered.

"Where are the treasures I bought?"

"Senior, everything is here. Someone has already paid for you."

"I understand, give it to me."

The entire process was efficient and quick, and the delivery was completed in no time.

Leaving the auction house, the mountaintop outside was packed with people. Many cultivators wandered around the square, stopping at the shops and stalls of the ten merchant guilds.

The auction inside requires verification of funds; not just anyone is qualified to enter.

However, there are also promotional activities outside. Each chamber of commerce in Market No. 1 has a branch, which sells different spiritual items at different stages for outsiders to choose from.

The Annihilation Avatar looked around and found quite a few good things, but it didn't rush to make a move. Instead, it went to the Treasure Exchange Pavilion first.

He took out a bag of purple chips from his pocket and, following the list given by Lie Yunsheng, bought some of the seventh-tier spiritual items posted in Yi Bao Lou, thus generating fake orders and positive reviews.

Those "spiritual items" are nothing but empty words hanging in shop windows; they're not actually in stock even if you buy them, yet sales volume has increased.

Then, he, at the Void Transformation stage, personally inscribed the name:
Authentic products, absolute treasures, a 100,000-year-old brand that lives up to its reputation—Yi Bao Lou is the top choice when visiting Qiyunling!

After completing the task, he turned and blended into the crowd.

Before long, another cultivator at the Void Transformation stage arrived, took out a bag of chips, and started placing bets. It was none other than Ji Xuanjun!
After finishing, this person didn't forget to give a good review, looked around, and then disappeared into the crowd.

Lin Shan was also wandering around. He had a lot of materials for refining the Void Realm, dozens of kinds in total. The ones he had obtained earlier were the main materials, and he also needed all sorts of auxiliary materials.

Taking advantage of the grand occasion of the trade fair, he frequented various chambers of commerce, collecting materials extensively.

Many common seventh-tier spiritual materials are priced at one purple token, and are mostly sold by weight. In total, I spent fifteen tokens to buy a large number of various auxiliary materials.

Discounting the ten coins that were instantly killed by the Annihilation Avatar, and the twenty-three coins used at the auction, there are still fifty-two coins left. Nearly half of them were spent on the first day!
"I'm still too poor."

Lin Shan couldn't help but sigh. Even selling a Xuanwu Spirit Boat for money wasn't enough to support his wealthy status, which showed just how deep the waters were in the Void Realm.

Back at the Yibao Tower in Marketplace No. 6, it was relatively quiet, but the streets were still bustling with people. Lie Yunsheng was sitting on the steps in front of the gate, chatting with the other three Supreme Appraisal Masters. After seeing him, they invited him to sit down.

"How was your harvest today, Fellow Daoist Xiongshan?"

"Hehe, I'll just watch. I can't compete with those rich people."

Lin Shan didn't talk about his own affairs, and the others didn't pay attention either, as they were all chatting about their own things, specifically the Observatory.

"President Lie, I've reached the required age, when will it be my turn to go to the inner continent of the Cloud Wind Immortal Realm?"

"I, too, have worked diligently and conscientiously at Yibaolou for ten Jiazi (a unit of time) without ever slacking off. It's only right that it's my turn!"

"Who do you think you are? When I arrived, this little kid wasn't even born yet. I've single-handedly supported so many branches in Nankaido for over a thousand years. And now, most of these appraisers are trained by me. It should be my turn to take over!"

The three of them spoke rudely to each other, none of them giving each other a friendly look; they seemed to be rivals.

Lie Yunsheng could only manage a bitter smile.

"Teachers, please don't worry. We're waiting for the transfer order from above. You know, there's a specific position for every person. If no one steps down from above, how will we find someone to fill the gap?"

"."

Lin Shan curiously eavesdropped on their conversation.

Inland Observatory?
What do you mean?
After listening to everyone, I finally understood the whole story. It turns out that the Observatory has regulations that require applicants to have a certain number of years of experience, a proven track record, a certification level, and a recommendation from a large chamber of commerce to become an appraiser in an official institution.

Which appraiser in the celestial realm wouldn't want to work for the government, have a secure job, and live a life of comfort and security?

These three have worked diligently at Yibaolou for so long, clearly valuing this channel; no matter how hard or tiring it is, they have something to look forward to.

If they had no other choice, they would have run away long ago. Who would stay locked in a dark little room all day long?

The problem is that the positions in the Observatory are limited, and there are only so many slots allocated to each chamber of commerce. Those who went in before haven't been discharged, so those who come after have to wait in line, and who knows how long they'll have to wait.

Seeing the worried expressions on the faces of his three old colleagues, Lin Shan kindly comforted them:
"The Heavenly Observation Bureau isn't necessarily good either. Fellow Daoist Lie told me before that it's much busier and more tiring there than here, with no time to spare! What's the point of all this busy life? It's better to take some time to travel and see the world."

"What do you know?"

The three old men and women turned around in unison and pointed at him in their old-fashioned manner.

"Young people are blindly ignorant and arrogant. When you reach our age, you'll understand that there's a fundamental difference between being an official within the system and being idle outside it. Many people dream of getting in and would do anything to get in!"

Lin Shan disagreed, shook his head, and sighed.

“We cultivators seek immortality, and the cultivation of immortality is all about freedom. You toil and struggle so hard just to eat the government's rice, but in the end you don't get anything good out of it. I'm not envious of you.”

"Not envious? Kid, if I gave you a chance to receive a monthly supply of cultivation pills for the Void Realm, a life-extending elixir to help you when your lifespan is nearing its end, a top-tier cave dwelling for free, guaranteed passage through the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man, the opportunity to be mentored by a Celestial Appraiser, and to be immediately registered in the Celestial Register upon becoming an immortal, and to be responsible for guiding your reincarnation after your death, with the potential to enter the Heavenly Court in the future. Are you sure you wouldn't be envious?"

"what?!"

Lin Shan was immediately taken aback. There were so many benefits to working within the system, why had no one ever told me about them? (End of Chapter)