Second floor, in the private room where the Heaven’s Pride Association is located.
After a moment of silence, a voice broke through the quiet.
Li Han forced a small smile onto his stiff face, saying:
“It’s just a cat, there are countless cats like this in Great Xia, it might not necessarily belong to Teacher Shen.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Ya’s voice rang out:
“No, she is Teacher Shen’s cat, look, she’s waving at us.”
Everyone followed her gaze to the floor-to-ceiling window on the third floor, where the black and white cat was excitedly waving its little white-gloved paw, its vibrant heterochromatic eyes seeming to greet Wen Ya.
Bai Xue had a particular fondness for this lady who complimented her cuteness, and with the factor of Xue Mingzhi also present, her interest was naturally piqued.
The room fell silent once more, and the smile on Li Han’s face completely froze.
The lively Heaven’s Pride gathering turned slightly awkward just because of a suddenly appeared kitten.
Since the kitten belonged to Teacher Shen, it indicated that Teacher Shen must have made his way to the private room on the third floor, and thus Xue Mingzhi, who was always by Teacher Shen’s side, must be there too.
Around thirty Heaven’s Pride members were present, but they were not all of them. Some members in the Imperial Capital were not interested in the gathering or Yunfu’s market, so they did not attend.
Even so, the thirty plus people in the private room were amongst the most talented individuals in the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge of Great Xia.
If they were overshadowed by the established sects and noble families, they would accept it gracefully, believing that they will have the opportunity to reach the peak and establish their own noble families and sects in the future.
However, the fact that they were overshadowed by Xue Mingzhi, a newcomer to the Heaven’s Pride Association whom they had once looked down upon, was something they found hard to accept.
After a long silence, Qi Renyu let out a dry chuckle, breaking the frosty atmosphere.
“Perhaps it’s just a coincidence.”
“If Teacher Shen has familiar connections, it would be normal for him to be invited into the private room on the third floor. Getting into the private room with the help of others isn’t much to speak of, it’s only when one attains such a position through their own abilities that they’re truly impressive.”
Qi Renyu’s words were somewhat far-fetched, but most of the Heaven’s Pride members agreed with him.
It’s easy to acknowledge an already strong person’s strength, but hard to acknowledge one who was weak and suddenly becomes strong. So, until they completely adapt to the change, they could only use the same rhetoric to console themselves.
Wen Ya paid no mind to the fragile egos of the Heaven’s Pride members. After all, she knew very well that Xue Mingzhi was her own nephew.
She was quite pleased that her younger relative was able to establish such connections.
Under this complex atmosphere, the room gradually regained its lively ambiance. Everyone exchanged cultivation experiences and interesting anecdotes while keeping an eye on the various items being traded in the main hall.
Although most of the Heaven’s Pride members were born into families of the Imperial Capital and were not weak in their own cultivation, due to the lack of resources at the Early Stage of the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge, the families of the Imperial Capital, which rose to power after the establishment of Great Xia, didn’t have much cultivation depth.
These noble families of the Imperial Capital might be able to mobilize billions of worldly resources and splurge on antique trinkets, but they were poor when it came to cultivation resources.
The vast majority of the noble families of the Imperial Capital had not experienced the previous Spirit Energy Tidal Surge era and had already encountered the era of Spirit Energy depletion during the establishment of Great Xia, thus they were unable to find any cultivating resources in the world. Without grotto heavens sacred grounds to rely on, even if they were able to find a few remaining spirit stones or spirit objects, they were not able to survive the long three thousand years of Spirit Energy depletion.
In the half a year since the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge has just returned, most of the Spirit Veins and ore veins have not yet revived, and some important Spirit Veins were preoccupied by the large sects with grotto heavens blessed land thousands of years ago.
The Spirit Vein mines left for the Great Xia’s Imperial Court were very limited, let alone those that could be shared with the noble families of the Imperial Capital.
Old sects needed a large amount of Spirit Energy to maintain the grotto heavens sacred ground, so before the arrival of the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge, they stored their stockpile of spirit stones in their grotto heavens sacred land to survive through the three thousand years of Spirit Energy depletion.
Now that the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge has gradually returned, the old sects no longer need spirit stones to maintain Spirit Energy in the grotto heavens sacred ground. They can use those spirit stones saved since the last Spirit Energy Tidal Surge era.
Although the quantity of these leftover spirit stones was not large, it was a wealth that was preserved since the peak period, and compared to the current output of spirit stones in the Great Xia, they indeed were a massive asset.
The Great Xia’s Imperial Court, holding control over hundreds of medium and small-sized spirit stone mines within its territory, had access to newly extracted spirit stones. With the return of the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge, more and more spirit stone veins within the territory were reviving, proving the Court’s depth of resources was not to be underestimated.
Only the noble families of the Imperial Capital, although they controlled a lot of secular resources, were arguably the poorest among the forces in terms of cultivation resources. They were not even comparable to local ruling families like the Liu Family of Qing Province.
Although these Heaven’s Pride members appeared affluent, if you asked them to bring out their spirit stones, having over a dozen would already make them considered a wealthy individual. This is often essentially a result of family sponsorship spending exorbitant amounts.
Such wealth, albeit impressive compared to ordinary cultivators in the hall, and even though spirit objects were not currently expensive, over a dozen spirit stones could buy quite a few decent items. But when compared to the sects and noble families participating in the auction on the second and third floors, their wealth appeared insignificant.
The free trade session below didn’t last long, the noise gradually faded, and a large circular stage started rising in the center of the hall.
Yan Xiao slowly flew to the center of the stage, held a small hammer in his hand, and lightly struck an ancient bronze bell.
“Hum!”
Invisible sound waves radiate in all directions, completely suppressing all the noise in the bustling hall and rendering the scene into silence.
In the Heaven’s Pride Association’s VIP box, the amazed voices of many members could be heard:
“Magic Artifact!”
“No, it’s a unique treasure that has fallen from the level of a spirit treasure to a magic artifact.”
“As expected of Mount Laojun, casually taking out a treasure of this level; seems like this auction is worth looking forward to.”
“As if you would be able to bid for it.”
Yen Xiao, standing on the high stage, surveyed the entire venue and announced in a loud voice:
“The free trade section has temporarily concluded; now we move on to the auction.”
A maiden in palace attire elegantly ascended the stage, carrying an exquisite wooden box in her hands. Inside it was a string of silver bells interconnected by a red cord.
“This is the first auction item of this trading fair, the official magical treasure of Yin Yang Hehuan Dao, the Hehuan Bell.”
Upon hearing this, the whole trading hall caused a huge stir, even Shen Yuan couldn’t help but look towards the stage.
“I didn’t expect Mount Laojun would go all out. The first item is such a treasure.”
In the private box, only Xue Mingzhi uncomprehendingly asked Shen Yuan:
“I’ve heard of Yin Yang Hehuan Dao, but what is this Hehuan Bell?”
Shen Yuan looked at Xue Mingzhi with a weird expression, “Don’t you look at the Q&A forum?”
Xue Mingzhi honestly replied: “I mainly look at the answers to cultivation- related questions in the Q&A forum’s help section; I generally use the rest of my time to cultivate and rarely pay attention to these.”
Shen Yuan was somewhat surprised. Xue Mingzhi turned out to be a cultivation fanatic.
Upon hearing this, Shen Yuan had no option but to explain:
“Although Yin Yang Hehuan Dao has a dubious reputation, among all sects and spiritual paths in Great Xia, Yin Yang Hehuan Dao is the ancestor of many spiritual doctrines, with a long and ancient history of transmission. The power of Yin Yang Hehuan Dao itself is also extraordinary, even surpassing Mount Laojun.”
“The Hehuan Bell, born ten thousand years ago, is the official magical treasure of Yin Yang Hehuan Dao. Only inner disciples are eligible to apply for it from the sect. While the Hehuan Bell is a mere magical treasure, it can enhance divine skills like soul bewilderment, soul seizing, and mind control. It also possesses fatal sound wave attacks, placing it in an outstanding category among numerous magical treasures. Still, the unique value of Hehuan Bell isn’t its enhancement of divine skills, but rather, as an official magical treasure, it has a particularly special effect – that is, one can engrave a divine skill on the magical treasure. There is a certain probability that it can be promoted to a spirit treasure.”
“Promoted to a spirit treasure!” Xue Mingzhi opened his eyes wide, his voice trembling slightly.
In Great Xia today, let alone spirit treasures, even magical treasures are scarce. Even the Xue Family only possesses two magic artifacts. The fact that it takes hundreds of spirit stones for a single magical artifact further highlights the value of the Hehuan Bell.
Shen Yuan, however, seemed quite indifferent about it: “Don’t worry. If this Hehuan Bell could be promoted to a spirit treasure, Mount Laojun wouldn’t put it up for auction. Since they have chosen to sell it, there must be some problems.”
Sure enough, right after Shen Yuan finished speaking, Yen Xiao started to explain:
“Ladies and gentlemen, please remain patient. This is indeed a genuine Hehuan Bell. However, due to its long inheritance, its spirit essence has dissipated and it has now degraded to the level of a mere magical artifact. Whether it can exhibit the real effect of a Hehuan Bell is yet to be determined.”
“But Mount Laojun guarantees that the inscriptions and materials of the Hehuan Bell are intact, only the corresponding spirit essence is lacking.”
“If there are any artifact refining masters among you who have the confidence to restore it and are successful, its value will undoubtedly surge a hundredfold. Even if it cannot be restored, one could still learn something from the heritage of Yin Yang Hehuan Dao, making it worth the price.”
These words from Yen Xiao, like a bucket of cold water splashed on everyone, extinguished the flame of excitement in their hearts.
Yen Xiao, however, didn’t seem to care, his resonating voice echoed throughout the entire auction hall.
“Starting bid for the Hehuan Bell, one hundred spirit stones!”
This starting price for a magical artifact was an unimaginable figure for everyone in the Heaven’s Pride Association’s VIP box.
In the other lounges on the second floor, the various sects, and clans were also frowning and weighing the pros and cons, wondering whether it is worthwhile to purchase the Hehuan Bell for one hundred spirit stones when it’s uncertain if it can be restored.
At this moment, a somewhat trembling voice arose from a third-floor lounge. “One thousand spirit stones!”

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