A commotion instantly erupted. Who was bidding against the Head Seat, Perfected One Gu of the Taixu Sect?
Everyone turned to look back, their eyes landing on a tall man in a black robe.
Gu Monian frowned and spoke again: “Eleven thousand Spirit Stones.”
Xie Bing: “…”
Just how rich was her Shifu?
She roughly calculated the exchange rate between the cultivation world and her pre-transmigration world. One Spirit Stone was roughly equivalent to ten thousand yuan. So a thousand Spirit Stones was about ten million yuan, and now the price had suddenly jumped to one hundred million?!
After a suffocating silence, the auctioneer continued: “Eleven thousand Spirit Stones, going once…”
He hadn’t even finished when the gloomy Black Robe spoke again. “Twenty thousand Spirit Stones.”
Everyone: ???
Xie Bing: Suffocating.
She had recognized the Black Robe’s voice earlier. It was the Devil Realm’s Devil Venerable, Nangong Wumei!
In her previous life, she had spent a considerable amount of time by Nangong Wumei’s side. She could recognize his voice. A glance just now, though she couldn’t see his form clearly, confirmed it was him.
Twenty thousand! Two hundred million!
That spendthrift Nangong Wumei! Was wasting the Devil Realm’s money this easy?
…Wait. Knowing Nangong Wumei’s personality, he had absolutely no intention of paying!
He wasn’t just here to bid.
He had a follow-up plan.
The hall fell silent.
Everyone understood: This was a direct challenge to Gu Monian.
Gu Monian, perpetually aloof, remained outwardly impassive. His expression was unreadable. But now his distant gaze crossed the crowd to fix on the black-clad man in the last row. “May I ask what esteemed sect this fellow Daoist hails from? Who is your teacher?”
He was probing for his background.
Xie Bing drew a sharp breath and shrank her neck, hiding among the crowd, trying to lower her presence as much as possible.
Eldest Senior Brother told the sect he was away on a mission with an uncertain return date. Yet in the blink of an eye, he appeared in Emerald Valley as the Devil Venerable, opposing Gu Monian and ruining his plan to win a beauty’s smile. What was he scheming?
Recalling all the various anomalies, Xie Bing’s heart suddenly jolted. She abruptly understood: this was a trap!
The Three Major Sects had calculated that the Devil Venerable would come to claim his deceased mother’s memento!
…
“No sect, no teacher.”
Gu Monian’s gaze flickered, his thoughts unknown.
Xuan Yao timidly tugged at Gu Monian’s sleeve, a dispirited look in her autumn-water eyes. She bit her lip and said, “Shifu, maybe let it go. It’s not worth it for A Yao.”
Gu Monian’s brows furrowed sharply.
His fingers slowly tightened. “I wonder why you are so fixated on this spirit sword. For someone of your apparent means, finding another sword would not be difficult, I imagine. Please, show some magnanimity.”
The black hood hid his form, and a severe, silver eagle mask concealed his face. He looked distantly at the bidding stage, the corner of his lips curving upward. “This sword pleases me. Thus, it is mine.”
A collective gasp ran through the crowd. This was a declaration of absolute refusal to yield!
The frivolous yet sinister voice continued: “Rather, it is Perfected One Gu who, having lavished a fortune to delight a beauty and now facing a setback, begs for mercy. That is somewhat… unseemly.”
“What are you implying?”
The Black Robe sneered. “I am saying: What a loving, devoted couple.”
Xuan Yao’s face drained completely of color!
Tears streamed down her ashen face. She whimpered, aggrieved: “Shifu, he’s spouting nonsense…”
This was sheer humiliation.
A Head Seat of the Taixu Sect being so insulted! The Taixu Sect cultivators stationed in the hall could no longer restrain themselves. Spirit swords left their sheaths in a chorus of ringing steel, angry glares fixed on the man in black.
“Are you here to cause trouble? What nonsense are you saying?”
“Exactly! Our Taixu Sect is upright and righteous! How dare you spout such insolence!”
Gu Monian stared heavily at the black-clad figure, then suddenly said, “This fellow Daoist doesn’t seem to lack for swords. Why seek such unpleasantness? And even resort to wanton insults?”
“Merely for amusement.”
He smiled, his gaze falling upon Xuan Yao with a captivating pull. “Is it not amusing to watch a beauty’s hopes shatter, her tearful eyes glistening?”
These words halted Xuan Yao’s tears mid-roll. She lifted her face in a daze, looking up at the tall man.
The hood obscured his features, but she could feel the scorching intensity of his gaze fixed upon her delicate face.
The look was dangerous and suffocating. Xuan Yao’s heart suddenly pounded.
Unconsciously, she retreated half a step, hiding behind Gu Monian.
Gu Monian’s fingers tightened, knuckles cracking, nearly exposing the bone.
“Zheng—”
With a resonant ring, a spirit sword appeared in his hand.
A chilling murderous intent surfaced in his light-colored eyes.
“Nangong Wumei. As expected, you are utterly debauched and lascivious, a man of dissolute ‘Demeanor’.”
…
After a beat of silence, startled cries erupted everywhere!
Nangong Wumei? The new Devil Venerable of the Devil Realm? How could he be here?
“How easily you lose your composure.”
Nangong Wumei laughed frivolously. “Did you reveal my identity just because I spoiled your fun of pleasing a beauty? What a pity. Wasn’t your meticulous trap a waste?”
Their eyes met, cold light clashing.
Gu Monian sneered. “A Heavenly Net and Earthly Snare has already been laid here! You came for your mother’s memento, so leave your life behind as well!”
Xie Bing’s heart chilled at these words.
So that was it. That’s why this Emerald Valley Market had such a grand auction. That’s why a Devil Realm supreme treasure appeared. It was all bait to catch a fish.
That fish was Nangong Wumei.
Nangong Wumei let out a low, stifled laugh. “No, the one who lost his composure… is you.”
Someone rushed forward, shouting in panic: “The Soul-Capturing Flute backstage is missing!”
In an instant, realization blazed through Gu Monian’s mind. “You did this deliberately!”
Disrupting Gu Monian’s bidding had been Nangong Wumei’s plan from the very start.
Just before the final auction, he drew all attention to the hall, humiliated the Taixu Sect, and ensnared Gu Monian and his disciples in fury, leaving them no chance to watch the backstage.
Devil Realm experts had long since infiltrated and stolen the supreme treasure from under layers of heavy guard.
“The Righteous Path… all just a bunch of despicable scoundrels, nothing more.”
Xie Bing understood Nangong Wumei’s meaning.
Calculating the time, it had barely been three years since Nangong Wumei ascended as Devil Venerable. The Devil Realm was fraught with factions. As a new Venerable coveted by his subordinates, his position was unstable. Using this moment to release the Devil Cultivation World’s supreme treasure—Nangong Wumei’s dead mother’s memento—was nothing short of bait to draw Nangong Wumei out.
Xie Bing had vaguely glimpsed someone who looked like Perfected Zang Chenghua of Starry Peak earlier. He was an expert in formations. The entire Emerald Valley was likely already locked down by boundless formations and heavy guards, just waiting for Nangong Wumei to appear so they could capture him easily.
“I advise you to surrender,” Gu Monian said, his expression icy. “You were lucky I didn’t kill you a year ago. Do you think you’ll escape unscathed this time?”
Beneath the silver mask, Nangong Wumei laughed with delight. “True, indeed. There are some… minor inconveniences.”
The smile that had begun to form on Gu Monian’s lips froze.
Nangong Wumei chuckled softly: “However, the Taixu Sect… is merely full of trash.”
His smile contemptuous, he raised his hand and gave a sharp snap of his fingers.
Instantly, black Devil Qi surged, blasting the entire auction stage to pieces!
“BOOM—!!”
“BOOM—!!”
A chain of explosions turned the entire open-air auction hall into an endless cloud of smoke. Devil Nightmare Beasts erupted from the limitless void, their Devil Qi raging, surging forward to devour everyone. People fled in all directions, the path ahead nearly invisible in the chaos.
The Devil Nightmare Beasts stood dozens of meters tall, entirely pitch-black, faces hideous. They frantically tore at cultivators; in the blink of an eye, the ground was littered with dismembered limbs.
Everyone rushed to escape. Xie Bing hesitated for a moment, falling to the very back.
A bidder on the display platform cried out, “The Wish-Fulfilling Sword is gone!”
So Nangong Wumei, in his exit, had taken the Wish-Fulfilling Sword as well.
From the distant sky, Nangong Wumei’s voice drifted down, ethereal and formless:
“That sword… shall serve as payment for the blood of my Devil Cultivation World’s countless sons.”
Gu Monian’s face darkened to a shade blacker than the bottom of a pot.
“After him!”
“Pursue!”
Xuan Yao fought back the urge to cry, her voice a wronged sob: “Shifu, the sword… it’s gone.”
A smile forced its way onto Gu Monian’s ashen face: “A Heavenly Net and Earthly Snare is already in place. Teleportation Arrays cannot be used. Nangong Wumei will not escape this time. Don’t worry, Yao’er, the sword will still be yours.”
Exiting the auction house with the fleeing crowd, Xie Bing looked up to find the area already enveloped by a massive sword formation.
Gu Monian, with his profound power and deep cunning, was a figure respected and feared by all in the Taixu Sect. He only seemed to lose his wits when infatuated with Xuan Yao. Facing the Devil Realm’s Devil Venerable, he showed no mercy, fortifying Emerald Valley like a solid iron bucket.
This massive maneuver by Gu Monian was for one purpose: to trap the Devil Realm’s forces inside the grand formation.
The momentary lapse at the auction house allowed Devil Venerable Nangong Wumei to pull off his diversion, but that hardly mattered. Emerald Valley’s restriction was already activated; the Devil Cultivators couldn’t use teleportation arts to return to the Devil Realm.
The place echoed with the sounds of sword lights and bursting magic arts. Black mist spewed by the Devil Nightmare Beasts corroded cultivators in the sky. Devil Cultivators tried to activate Teleportation Arrays but failed repeatedly.
The Three Major Sects joined forces to exterminate the Devil Cultivators who had infiltrated. Outnumbered, and with Nangong Wumei summoning the Devil Nightmare Beasts to block another wave of attacks, the Devil forces were struggling.
He had to break through.
Xie Bing hid in a corner, nervously watching the battle unfold, her hand gripping the Frost Spirit Sword tightly.
She tried desperately to recall what had happened at this time in her previous life, but couldn’t remember. She only vaguely recalled that Eldest Senior Brother seemed to disappear for a long period, only returning once a year before she was thrown into the Dungeon, and then quickly leaving again.
Could it be that he sustained life-threatening injuries here?
No, she couldn’t let it go on like this.
She closed her eyes and sank into her Immortal Cultivation Training System.
She still had points she hadn’t exchanged!
Through all her recent studying and grinding experience, her strength had improved, and her points had grown too. Just “Discovering the Scripture Library’s Hidden Boss, Kong Yixian,” had netted her two hundred points. Combined with miscellaneous others, she now had over five hundred points.
Frantically scanning the shop from top to bottom, unlocking whatever her points could afford, Xie Bing noticed in the very top, most expensive category, a halo of light with a description underneath: “‘No Trace of You Where the Path Bends, Only Horse Hoofprints Left in the Snow’—Traceless Teleportation Array.”
The fine print at the bottom read: “Ignores all art restrictions. Ignores all formation restrictions. A luxurious teleportation, to be savored once. Non-reusable item. Remaining uses: 1”
Xie Bing: “…You’re the one.”
A bitter half-month of hard work, and in the blink of an eye, she was back to square one. After exchanging her points, her total dropped back down to a pathetic five points.
When she refocused, Nangong Wumei had vanished. The sounds of pursuing cultivators filled the air.
She ducked her head and quickly navigated the alleys and streets.
Some things were known only to Devil Cultivators in the Devil Realm, like Nangong Wumei’s secret signals. She followed the trail to the depths of the small town. Suddenly, her heart lurched.
She looked down a narrow, empty alley, frowning, her grip on the Frost Spirit Sword tightening.
In a flash, terrifying black mist shattered Xie Bing’s defenses. A hand clamped tightly around her throat, dragging her back into a dark corner.
A cold, faint fragrance enveloped her nose, like the endless spider lilies on the shores of the Yellow Springs.
Watching Xie Bing gradually lose strength, Nangong Wumei finally loosened his grip slightly, giving her room to gasp. “You came to kill me?”
“Cough, cough…”
Xie Bing struggled for breath. Hearing Eldest Senior Brother’s words, she froze.
She was wearing Taixu Sect robes and had come with a sword. No matter how you looked at it, she seemed like someone desperate for merit, seeking to kill the Devil Venerable.
Indeed, the Taixu Sect had killed many Devil Cultivators, and Nangong Wumei had just killed quite a few Taixu and other sect disciples.
Any Taixu Sect member with a normal brain would want to eliminate the Devil Venerable as soon as possible.
Xie Bing, whose brain was decidedly not normal, spoke with the utmost sincerity:
“Devil Venerable, I’m here to save you!”
Her fingers curled, and a flicker of light shot out. A faintly glowing wooden halo appeared in the air. From here, it was nearly impossible to see what lay within.
Nangong Wumei stared heavily at the teleportation portal, then back at her.
His dark eyes beneath the silver mask churned like a deep, cold pond. “You… save me?”
How was that possible?
All Teleportation Arrays were restricted. A piece of trash dared to claim she could save him? This was a trap.
He sneered. His wrist flexed, prepared this time to snap Xie Bing’s pitifully fragile neck.
Xie Bing could almost hear the “crack” in her mind. Her hands flailed wildly, one grabbing Nangong Wumei’s wrist.
He stiffened.
Before his fingers could fully clench, Xie Bing curled her own finger and gently stroked Nangong Wumei’s wrist.
It was a provocative tease.
Nangong Wumei: …
His body rigid, he stared at Xie Bing in disbelief.
Facing imminent death… and she was flirting?
Seizing the brief respite, Xie Bing covered her mouth desperately with one hand and coughed violently several times. “I really am here to save you.”
Nangong Wumei was a madman who trusted no one. Even in her previous life, after following him for so long, he hadn’t trusted her. He viewed human life as worthless; killing Xie Bing right now would be perfectly logical. She needed a plausible reason to make him believe she genuinely wanted to save him.
But how could such a reason exist?
Nangong Wumei wouldn’t care about any connection between them… Even as Yin Juanzhi and Xie Bing, they had no real bond.
“Reason.”
They were strangers, had never met. Why would Xie Bing, a member of a righteous sect, risk punishment of death by colluding with the Devil Venerable?
Xie Bing found the situation utterly hellish…
She couldn’t just say, “I know your secret identity.” Then she’d definitely be dead too.
Racking her brain, the sound of pursuers almost in her ears, Xie Bing finally looked up at Nangong Wumei with tear-filled eyes. She stared at him deeply:
“Devil Venerable, I heard you are the number one beauty of the Devil Realm. I like you so much!”
Nangong Wumei: “…”
Even through the silver eagle mask, she could sense his speechless expression.
Xie Bing pressed on. “I truly love your face!”
She had to make Nangong Wumei believe the teleportation portal was safe. She couldn’t let him die here.
Xie Bing knew instinctively that Eldest Senior Brother would believe this kind of excuse.
In the Mortal Realm, when she’d thought her ex-husband brother was handsome, she’d bravely pursued love and married him. After arriving in the cultivation world, when she liked her Shifu, she’d sought him out to confess and proposed Dual Cultivation. So, naturally, liking the Devil Venerable for his face also made sense.
Still, seeing Eldest Senior Brother’s utterly speechless expression, a question almost burst from him: Xie Bing, where is your sense of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and honor?!
Through gritted teeth, he forced out: “…So?”
Xie Bing grabbed Nangong Wumei’s hand with one hand and, in an utterly lecherous manner, stroked it. With heartfelt emotion, she declared: “Devil Venerable, I save you, and I have only one request…”
“—Please, engage in Dual Cultivation with me!”
Nangong Wumei: “…”
As if in a daze, he stumbled a step backward, clearly having received a significant shock.
Half a beat later, without a word, he turned, transforming into a streak of black mist and hurtling straight into the Teleportation Array.