Douluo Continent: Reincarnated as Huo Gua, yet a Manjusaka Flower

She looked at the other person quietly, and three pure blood-red spirit rings slowly rose from her feet, without the golden patterns of ordinary 100,000-year spirit rings.

There was only a deep, impenetrable crimson, like congealed blood, or a sea of ​​blooming spider lilies. At the center of each soul ring, three concentric circles of layered spider lily patterns coiled.

"Three...three hundred thousand years?" Jiang Xuehai's voice trembled uncontrollably, and even the phantom wolf behind him began to shudder. "Impossible!"

He simply couldn't understand it.

"Don't worry, this will all be over soon."

Huo Yunxiao moved with light, graceful steps, her fair wrist slightly raised.

In the blink of an eye, it shot out from the palm.

A burst of karmic fire swept across the sky, tearing the entire firmament apart. Chaotic energy surged, and the world dimmed.

Drawn by her power, the entire forest was instantly engulfed in flames, the vegetation withered, the earth turned crimson, and even the wind was twisted and howled by the heat.

"Sins, be cleansed."

"what!"

………………

"Dear Mr. Rufan Shurus, have you heard? A few days ago, a powerful being shattered the heavens."

At the entrance of the largest opera house in Douling City, the European Opera, two gentlemanly nobles alighted from their carriage and chatted with formulaic smiles on their faces.

"That's obvious. By the way, evil spirit masters are becoming increasingly rampant. A Golden Cavalry commander died at the city gate, and even slapped our Fighting Spirit Empire in the face."

"Your foresight is uncanny," the minor nobleman flattered, then added, "I suppose your wise eyes have already seen through all the darkness?"

"You are incredibly insightful."

"My dear Miss Columbus, ignore those scavengers in the wilderness. Under the wise and mighty leadership of His Majesty the Emperor, the Douling Empire will once again be great!"

"I think so too, Mr. Rufan Shurus, let's go in."

The conversation ended there, and the two began chatting about trivial matters, walking step by step into the depths of the Columbia Opera House under the guidance of the waiter.

Surprisingly, they didn't enter the main hall where the world-famous music was played, but instead quietly turned into a dimly lit corridor. A waiter pushed open a hidden door at the end of the corridor, revealing a secret hall far grander and more extravagant than the main hall. Countless upper-class nobles were raising their glasses and conversing there, and even a viscount like Cavendish couldn't stir up the slightest ripple in his presence.

This is an underground auction house hidden beneath layers of a glamorous opera house.

This place never auctions legitimate items; it only deals in those with mysterious origins and forbidden items explicitly prohibited by law—a den of iniquity where the elite indulge their desires and spend lavishly.

When Rufan Shurus and his party arrived, the auction was already in full swing.

"My esteemed gentlemen and ladies, please behold this next rare treasure!"

The female host, with her alluring figure and deliberately seductive words, stirred up a stir among the aristocratic men in the audience. Every item she auctioned was driven to ridiculously inflated prices. As the bids kept rising, her smile deepened, her allure growing ever stronger, as if she could strip away the last shred of clothing in front of everyone if the bid was high enough.

"Thump—thump—thump—"

The auction gavel fell with three crisp sounds.

"Twenty-five thousand gold soul coins! Congratulations, Lady Lodisia, on winning the bid for this thousand-year-old Snow Spirit Fox, a rare find in the entire Douling City!"

"They even dare to auction off wild spirit beasts..."

The young nobleman who followed Cavendish into the room couldn't help but gasp in amazement as he looked at the Snow Spirit Fox, which had been forcibly dragged off the auction stage, its ferocity still intact but its eyes filled with fear.

"They're just ordinary soul beasts." Rufan Xiulus glanced at him indifferently, his tone carrying the detachment of someone who had been here for a long time. "The real show is about to begin. Since it's your first time here, you might as well broaden your horizons."

"Yes... thank you for your guidance, Viscount."

The young nobleman immediately composed himself and stared intently at the high platform in front of him.

Just then, several strong men worked together to lift a huge iron cage, which was completely covered with a thick black cloth, and a suffocating atmosphere emanated from it.

The moment the iron cage appeared, the atmosphere in the entire arena suddenly became tense.

The nobles, who had been lounging lazily, rose to their feet, their eyes fixed on the platform like hawks, as if they wanted to pierce through the black cloth and see what treasures were hidden inside.

Seeing this, the host smiled knowingly and said in a loud voice:

"Next up is the grand finale of this auction. I'm sure you've all been waiting for this for quite some time—so, please take a look!"

Before she finished speaking, she strode forward and ripped off the black cloth covering the cage.

The moment the curtain fell to the ground, the entire hall fell silent, then erupted in a deafening roar!

Inside the iron cage were not any rare or exotic beasts or ancient soul bones.

There was one person inside.

A living, naked person.

His long, off-white hair, like a thin veil woven from moonlight, fell softly, barely concealing his exquisitely shaped body. His skin was as white and smooth as jade, so delicate it seemed as if it could break at the slightest touch. His slender feet were flawless and exquisite, his fingertips as tender as peeled egg white. Every inch of his skin was so refined that it seemed otherworldly.

He seemed to have been deprived of light for a long time, and the sudden glare from the lights made it hard for him to open his eyes. Terrified, he curled up in the corner of the cage, hugging his knees tightly. In that movement, a breathtakingly beautiful face was completely exposed to everyone's view. His eyes were red at the corners, and tears were hanging in the air. His vulnerable, helpless, and pitiful appearance was enough to ignite the most savage possessiveness in anyone's heart.

The auction house fell into a brief silence.

Deathly silence is often the prelude to madness.

"Ten thousand gold soul coins!"

"Thirty thousand!"

"If you don't have money, don't embarrass yourself here! I'll give you 60,000!"

The bidding frenzy swept through the entire venue like wildfire.

In just two rounds, the price has already far exceeded that of the Millennium Snow Spirit Fox.

For these nobles who have been confined to Douling City their entire lives, power and playthings are never a matter of value, but rather a matter of whether they want them or not.

Some people were so excited that they trembled all over and simply slammed bags of gold soul coins onto the auction stage. Coins flew everywhere and hit the thin body of the boy in the cage.

Hearing his suppressed cries of pain and seeing his trembling, fearful appearance, the emotions of all the nobles in the audience were pushed to an even more frenzied peak.

Amid the chaos, an untimely voice suddenly rang out:

"Wait... this... this looks like a man?"

The speaker was a young nobleman.

As soon as he finished speaking, he was frozen in place by more than a dozen cold, strange, and mocking gazes.

Before the young nobleman could react, he was forcibly pulled back to his seat by his companion, who felt utterly humiliated.

It was just a trivial interlude.

Nobody cared about the fuss made by a mere kid.

Just as some people scoffed in their hearts—

He's too young to understand what real fun is.

Prices skyrocketed, reaching levels that ordinary people could never have imagined.

"Two hundred and forty thousand gold soul coins!"

This shout finally brought an end to the bidding noises that had been rising and falling in the room.

The nobles, though wealthy, did not acquire their wealth by chance—it was the result of their daily, relentless exploitation of the common people. For a mere plaything, this was more than enough.

The nobleman who shouted out 240,000 looked smug, feeling that victory was assured.

However, the female host gently shook her head, her smile unchanged.

"I'm sorry, sir. This prized item is not available for purchase with Gold Soul Coins. It has more specific bidding rules."

"Are you insulting the dignity of a nobleman?!"

The nobleman's face instantly turned ashen, and his voice was chillingly cold.

The vast majority of nobles in the room shared the same expression as him.

They were treated like fools, bidding so high in the auction, only to be told now that the rules were different—their pride and dignity were as if they had been brutally trampled into the ground.

"Your Excellency has misunderstood." The host smiled gently, but her tone carried an undeniable certainty. "The reason we were here earlier was simply because the truly qualified guests who were bidding had not yet arrived. Now, let me introduce them to you one by one—"

She slowly raised her eyes, her clear voice carrying throughout the entire room:

"Princess Xueyinmu".

"Grand Duke Herald".

"Armand, the Finance Minister."

One name after another was read out.

Each one was enough to make the sky above Douling City tremble.

The nobles in the room grew paler and paler, and they all fell silent, obediently returning to their seats.

There is an insurmountable chasm between commoners and nobles.

Between them and those on stage lies another, deeper, more hopeless, and eternally insurmountable chasm.

Royal relatives, powerful nobles, high-ranking officials, top-tier soul masters...

None of them alone can rival the combined might of the two.