The young attendant pulled out a jade slip: “This is the catalog for this auction, Fairy. Please have a look. We have a few finale treasures; allow us to keep them a surprise for the auction.”
The Player glanced over it and decided to experience it.
The young attendant immediately led the way, arranging a seat for her and serving tea.
After sitting down, Li Yin looked around—and trouble arose. On the corridor of the second-floor private rooms, she saw a black-clothed sword cultivator pass by.
Though she did not see his full face, she glimpsed the black and white dual swords at his waist and knew exactly who it was.
Sword Venerable Yun Jian of Hidden Sword Mountain, her “junior brother.”
Hadn’t he rarely left Hidden Sword Mountain?
Another sudden scare. Li Yin immediately fell silent, grabbing a cup at random and taking a sip.
There were too many former… acquaintances here, one every three steps. How could she dare show herself?
From above, at the second-floor railing, the black-clothed sword cultivator seemed to glance downward, though it was unclear if he had spotted her.
The answer came moments later. A young attendant approached her: “Fairy, a noble guest invites you to the second-floor private room. He says he’s an acquaintance of yours, surnamed Ying.”
Her master, using his disciple’s identity…
Li Yin’s expression remained unchanged. She guessed he had not recognized her as Little Senior Sister and was inviting her out of consideration for his “disciple.”
Feeling slightly relieved, she set down her teacup and feigned innocence: “Surnamed Ying? But I clearly just saw…”
Then, the girl looked up with admiration and hesitation: “I wouldn’t dare disturb that noble guest. Please kindly refuse on my behalf.”
The young attendant nodded and turned to relay the message.
Li Yin sat a bit longer—leaving now would seem suspiciously guilty. Fortunately, Sword Venerable Yun Jian did not invite her again, and she quietly sighed in relief.
The auction began in the blink of an eye, and she took a fancy to a magic artifact at first sight.
The flying magic artifact had been refined into a shell shape: two pieces of water-blue shell cradling a pearl of watery luster. No matter how one looked, the center could perfectly accommodate a merfolk.
After the interlude with Sword Venerable Yun Jian’s invitation, she encountered another small hiccup while bidding.
The male cultivator wore Pill Cauldron Sect disciple robes, surrounded by companions like stars around the moon.
He fanned himself with a fan, exuding a flirtatious air: “Miss, it’s not that I don’t cherish the fairer sex, but this magic artifact suits me perfectly. I hope Miss can yield it to me.”
He grinned, snapped his fan shut, and continued bidding against her— the stereotypical image of a Cultivation World playboy disciple.
The girl ignored him, her black-and-white eyes merely flicking toward him once.
Li Yin inwardly prayed nonstop, hoping no sword venerable would descend from the second-floor private room. If he did, this brother would have to fend for himself—and so would she.
The Player did not understand local prices well; in-game spirit stones were just numbers, so she bid generously.
The bids climbed higher and higher, far exceeding the artifact’s base value, yet the girl did not blink, her background unknown as she vied with the oil-rich Pill Cauldron Sect disciple.
The male cultivator was undaunted. He raised his fan: “One high-grade spirit stone.”
The price refreshed again. Spirit stones were divided into low, mid, and high grades, exchanged at ratios of a hundred. Minor cultivators might train for decades without seeing a high-grade spirit stone.
For a moment, voices rose all around as his companions lavished him with praise, letting him steal the entire show. The fan swayed back and forth a few times.
Li Yin paid it no mind. With a glance from the corner of her eye, she spotted a shadowy figure moving on the second floor.
Not wanting her ex to show up, she hurriedly raised a single finger as well.
“The young lady also wants to bid one high-grade spirit stone…” The male cultivator shook his head, about to say she was too late—auctions didn’t work that way.
But the girl’s voice rang out clear: “One spirit crystal.”
After all, the identity card the Player had drawn this time was for a sect’s young lord, coming with a thousand spirit crystals right from the start.
Spirit crystals were far rarer, not even in the same category as spirit stones, and their value was incomparable.
The entire hall fell silent for an instant. On stage, the auction overseer reacted first and slammed down the gavel.
This time, the girl stole the show. The male cultivator’s face instantly darkened. He snapped shut his fan, his expression gloomy.
Seeing his change in demeanor, his few companions didn’t dare make a sound. The atmosphere turned frigid.
Li Yin ignored them. The Player had never feared heaven or earth—only trouble.
Being recognized by her ex here would be the biggest trouble.
She collected her prize, already thinking she would need to change her disguise upon returning, just in case someone tailed her.
As the lavish-spending honored guest prepared to leave, a young attendant hurried over to detain her. “Immortal lady, the finale treasure hasn’t appeared yet. To be frank with you, this time’s star attraction is a segment of Soul Yin Wood nurtured in a death ground, infused with four hundred years of yin qi. Won’t the immortal lady stay to see it?”
Li Yin had no intention of lingering. She shook her head.
This merchant guild was truly considerate in their service. They even sent someone to escort her all the way to the gates of Pill Cauldron Sect. It was always safer inside a major sect than out in the open.
In the distance, the bell tolled once more. Streams of light scattered in all directions—the scripture lecture seemed to have ended. She was just about to head back to find her fellow disciples when, after walking a short distance, she grew suspicious that someone was following her.
Sure enough, moments later, that fan-wielding male cultivator appeared and blocked her path. He hadn’t brought those companions this time.
The girl eyed him warily. “Is there something you need?”
“Fellow Daoist, since you’re here for the Pill Appreciation Conference, there’s no need to ruin the harmony between us.” He smiled ingratiatingly. “To be honest, I’m a seventh-grade alchemist, apprenticed under a fourth-grade alchemist. How about we form some good karma while out in the world?”
Alchemists commanded respect wherever they went. By plainly stating his status, he waited for the other party to flatter him.
But oddly, the girl tilted her head slightly, seemingly not understanding his implication.
How could he know that the girl before him wasn’t a local and didn’t understand the customs of the Cultivation World?
The male cultivator had no choice but to spell it out. “I truly like that magic artifact from earlier. I hope Fellow Daoist will part with it for me—I’ll pay one high-grade spirit stone.”
Whether he truly liked it, Li Yin didn’t know. But she did know he genuinely wanted to regain face from her.
“I truly like it too. I’m afraid I can’t.” The girl refused outright.
The male cultivator’s face grew even uglier. He turned the tables on her. “I see you’re young, so I thought you simply didn’t know the rules. I didn’t expect you’d deliberately compete with me at the auction and then reject my sincere request for peace.”
“If you admit your mistake now, I can let it go. Otherwise, don’t blame me for souring things and calling my sect elder to preside over justice.”
His routine flowed smooth as running water. The Player was momentarily stunned.
How could an outsider contend with the local snakes? This trick never failed.
Outsiders usually backed down the moment they heard he’d summon an elder—after all, a major sect’s elders naturally favored their own disciples.
The male cultivator took her silence for fear. He unfurled his fan with smug satisfaction.
The fan served both to show off and as a magic artifact. With a flick, a cold gleam sliced off a lock of her hair as a threat.
Who would have thought the girl would snap back to her senses? Her fingertip hooked out, snatching his fan right away.
Caught off guard, the male cultivator froze on the spot. Before he could react, the girl struck again.
The folding fan landed in her hand, and she wielded it like a sword. Without using any spiritual power, she unleashed several strikes in the blink of an eye, ruthlessly beating his face.
Regaining his senses, the male cultivator ended up disheveled, clutching his face in disbelief. “You—you actually dare… This is Pill Cauldron Sect! I’m a Pill Cauldron Sect disciple!”
The girl looked entirely innocent. “You struck first.”
The male cultivator’s face flushed red with rage. He pinched a hand seal.
The fan in Li Yin’s hand shuddered at once, sending out several bursts of cold light. She tossed it away in time, only to hear a sudden crisp crack.
Her pinned-up hair fell loose in an instant. Ignoring her disheveled locks, the girl reached out to grab—
The hairpin her master had given her had been knocked loose.
With the hairpin fallen, her disguise shattered. The girl, who had been so composed moments before, panicked at once.
Over there, the male cultivator she’d just thrashed had already sent out a Spirit Message, seemingly calling an elder to punish her.
Seeing her true appearance and her panic, he assumed she finally knew fear. Regaining his smugness, he mocked her. “So you’re just a cowardly rat hiding her head but showing her tail. Now you know fear? Too bad—it’s too late!”
The Spirit Message flew back, and his demeanor grew even more arrogant. Who knew what kind of senior he’d summoned.
Li Yin couldn’t spare him a thought.
Disciples of the pill path were indeed wealthy. Who knew what high-grade magic artifact his fan was—it had cracked her hairpin.
This Disguise Treasure would likely be useless if she put it back on now. With one hand hastily covering her face, she prepared to cast a Disguise Art as a replacement with the other.
Before her spell could fully form, two streaks of light suddenly appeared in the sky, both heading their way.
When cultivators flew through the air or burrowed through the earth, the spells they cast sometimes revealed their spiritual root aptitudes.
Blue light usually indicated water spiritual root aptitude, while green light suggested wood spiritual root.
Right now, the two incoming streaks were one blue glow and one green shimmer.
Coming from different directions, the blue glow was farther away, so the green arrived first.
Li Yin vaguely sensed the qi wave from the cultivator’s landing. Then she heard the male cultivator—thick-skinned as ever—speak in a pitiful, aggrieved tone to vent his grievances.
“This female cultivator is so unreasonable. She deliberately drove up the price at the auction to make trouble for me. When I tried to reason with her just now, she outright attacked and beat me!”
“Please, Elder Fu—see justice done for me!”
In that instant, only one thought remained in Li Yin’s mind.
Who?
Who had this guy called?