Auction, Part 7

The manager at the entrance had already been cut in half. Su Qing took both his token and keys from his waist.

Once outside, she realized the cause of the chaos.

The Nine Heavens Pavilion auction house was renowned for floating on clouds, situated high in the sky.

Its most celebrated feature was the transparent canopy roof above everyone’s heads, which seemed to be made of a thin, crystal-like spiritual jade.

In sunlight, it not only didn’t obstruct vision but instead sparkled brilliantly, pure and beautiful.

However, this proud canopy of the Nine Heavens Pavilion had now been cut into a circular hole by some unknown magical artifact, causing air, strong winds, and clouds to surge in simultaneously from all directions, throwing the venue into disarray.

The hall was filled with fleeing figures.

The Nine Heavens Pavilion had been breached, its doors wide open.

Black-clad figures, arriving from unknown places, were entangled with the white-clad guards of the Pavilion.

These black-clad individuals were all evil cultivators, desperate and ruthless, far beyond what these guards could handle.

Just moments ago, these black-clad figures weren’t here. They must have cut through the canopy to enter.

In just these few breaths, Su Qing noticed that the black-clad figures, like an ant colony, had devoured most of the white-clad guards.

The situation was completely one-sided. In the hall, the sounds of entanglement and screams were incessant.

Flashing blades and sword lights, the precious glows of magical artifacts and talismans, and crimson blood filled the entire hall.

Through the circular gap in the sky curtain, Su Qing saw a translucent ship stopped amidst the clouds outside.

The ship was slender and gaunt, like a ravenous beast.

Several triangular sails billowed high with the wind, and a black hunting flag was prominently tied to the tallest mast on the deck.

Su Qing clearly saw the pattern above the hunting flag: it was a crow.

The Heavenly Secret Alliance.

No wonder she found the evil cultivator’s attire in the quiet room familiar.

She had initially thought it was because evil cultivators all loved to wear black.

It turned out they were all members of the Heavenly Secret Alliance, just like the Blood Thorns from before, which explained why they dressed in such dark clothing, like crows.

Who had lured the Heavenly Secret Alliance, causing them to pilot this ghost ship to the Nine Heavens Pavilion, cut through the sky, and raid the pavilion for treasures?

She had encountered traces of the Heavenly Secret Alliance in the Dragon Boat Secret Realm and the Myriad Beast Forest, and had clashed with them several times.

However, she still didn’t know the origin of the Heavenly Secret Alliance, only that Tian Ning had warned her of its deep connections and advised against easily offending them.

On the deck of the ghost ship, another black-clad cultivator stood guard.

His cultivation was so high that she couldn’t see through it. Her initial estimate put him at Nascent Soul or above.

Perhaps Su Qing’s gaze had alerted him, for this person stood up, hands behind his back, and his eyes actually turned to look at Su Qing.

Fortunately, at this moment, a copper coin suddenly flew out, slicing diagonally across Su Qing’s vision.

Time seemed to stretch from one second to ten thousand years.

She could clearly see the mottled traces on the side of the copper coin.

In the next second, this copper coin actually sliced through the clouds in the sky, lightly striking the ship suspended in the air, directly shearing off three of its seven sails.

Su Qing had a bad premonition.

She mingled with the fleeing crowd and ran upwards to the inner area.

Her retreat was wise, because immediately after, a ragged old man soared into the air and clashed with the black-clad figure on the deck.

An attack, released by one side or the other, landed directly on her previous position, blasting the area into scorched earth.

When immortals fight, mortals suffer.

She still wouldn’t get involved; she’d seize the opportunity to profit from the chaos.

Because the canopy was torn open for the most part, and the defensive array was also shattered, many people attending the auction, in order to escape, summoned their flying magical artifacts and fled outwards.

The evil cultivators of the Heavenly Secret Alliance were mainly here to seize treasures, so they didn’t kill all the cultivators unless someone foolishly bumped into them or was dressed too splendidly and got targeted.

Most others generally had a way out.

But Su Qing discovered that although many cultivators voluntarily left, quite a few stayed to fish in troubled waters.

It seemed everyone had the same goal: to seize a fortune in the chaos.

Risking danger for wealth, if so, then life and death were irrelevant.

Su Qing ran towards the inner arena, encountering many black-clad evil cultivators.

Not all of these evil cultivators had high cultivation; many were Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Within the same rank, she feared nothing.

She split her broken Man Qing Sword in her storage bracelet into two, taking out a single long sword, and cleanly cut down several evil cultivators.

In the chaos, she thought of nothing else.

She just snatched the storage bags from their waists and left, not looking back at the people who gathered around, tightly clutching the evil cultivators’ robes, magical artifacts, and spirit weapons, fighting over them.

Some cultivators also perceived the opportunity, hiding in corners, wanting to ambush her.

Su Qing’s divine sense was keen; how could she not have noticed? These people all became ghosts under her sword, losing their lives.

The higher she went, the fewer people there were, and the more screams and pleas for mercy echoed from behind.

Those who cherished their lives had escaped at the first opportunity.

Those who remained were driven by greed. Su Qing was no different.

She didn’t criticize others; everyone had their own fate, and some who gambled and lost would perish here.

By the time she ran into the inner arena, she realized the situation was even worse than she had imagined.

Perhaps the people in the inner arena had abundant capital and no shortage of resources, so even if they found a bargain here, they would risk offending the Song family.

Furthermore, the Heavenly Secret Alliance was surging forward, even Nascent Soul grand cultivators were constantly in action.

Staying here longer might harm themselves.

The people in the inner arena had mostly withdrawn.

Even if they hadn’t completely left, they were observing from afar, looking for an opportunity to retreat if the situation turned sour, unwilling to participate in this conflict.

Only one female cultivator struck with sword moves like lightning, her killing blows precise and never wasted.

At this moment, she was entangled in combat with two early Golden Core cultivators.

She was wounded, with injuries on her waist and chest, blood soaking her clothes.

Yet, her sword strikes became even calmer and more precise, completely unaffected by her injuries.

For a moment, she did not fall into a disadvantage.

This female cultivator was Tian Ning. She wore a black robe and a mask on her face.

However, in the midst of battle, the mask was shattered by some unknown weapon, and a deep bloodstain was left on the jade-like cheek she exposed.

Su Qing looked at Tian Ning, noticing that although she was injured, her wounds were not severe and hadn’t damaged her foundation.

Instead, the fight had stirred her fighting spirit.

She was facing two Golden Core cultivators alone, yet she was orderly in her movements.

One must know that the Golden Core Tian Ning formed was merely a pseudo-core.

The divine radiance of a genius was truly admirable, especially that of a hardworking genius, forcing Su Qing to push herself further and further.

Extreme combat was also a kind of opportunity.

Su Qing did not step forward to interfere, merely stood by and watched.

But if anyone else stepped forward to join the battle and besiege Tian Ning, she would mercilessly strike with her sword, cleanly sending their heads rolling.

Seeing the struggle stalemate, with no quick resolution, one of the Golden Core cultivators grew anxious.

His movements became chaotic, and he began to circle around to attack.

Tian Ning instantly seized this opportunity, a sword to the throat.

A flash of snow-light passed, and a line of blood appeared on this person’s neck.

In an instant, his head fell.

The other Golden Core cultivator, seeing something was wrong, turned to flee, but was forcibly blocked by Su Qing, who was guarding the entrance.

Seeing that she, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, dared to obstruct a Golden Core, he was furious. “How dare you be so presumptuous, seeking death!”

He slammed a blow towards Su Qing’s heart meridian, but she blocked it with her arm.

He couldn’t move an inch, only feeling that the impact on his hand was incredibly solid, firm as a rock, making his palm tingle.

He watched as this female cultivator actually raised an eyebrow and smiled.

The next second, a silver-white long sword actually pierced directly into his body!

At the same time, the Snow Sword from behind also caught up, and together with the long sword, perfectly synchronized, they stabbed through him.

The evil cultivator let out an incredulous grunt, his body collapsing into a heap of flesh, completely lifeless.

Tian Ning pulled out her sword, then stabbed again into this person’s spine, extracting a cluster of transparent threads, which she burned clean with a fire talisman.

Su Qing asked, “What is this?”

“Traction Silk,” Tian Ning replied. “If not burned cleanly, it might parasitize other living bodies.”

Su Qing felt a chill of disgust. This thing must be a parasite, used to manipulate people, no different from venomous insects.

After dealing with these, Tian Ning then dissected out the Golden Core from his body, picked it up with her sword tip, and tossed it to Su Qing.

One for each of them; it was just enough for them to share. Although it was a glistening golden pill, Su Qing felt somewhat disgusted, crinkling her face, and directly threw it into her storage bag.

“Don’t use it yourself, sell it for money.” Tian Ning, however, accepted it well and didn’t mind. She looked at the long sword in Su Qing’s hand and frowned, “Your sword?”

Su Qing also felt a pang. “It can be repaired.”

Tian Ning nodded empathetically. She casually wiped the drops of blood from her face with the back of her hand. “I still haven’t found a suitable spiritual item.”

Su Qing understood. “Go up and see? Yueling might still be up there.”

Tian Ning shook the blood from the Snowfall Sword. She intended to do just that. “Let’s go.”

There were layers of restrictions between the inner arena and the upper private boxes, but most of them had been destroyed.

Su Qing used the tokens and keys she obtained from the manager to try and break the remaining ones.

Any that couldn’t be broken were forcefully shattered by the divine sword Snowfall.

Terrifying.

The upper private boxes were even more lavish, with embroidered screens, pearl curtains, jade hooks, and splendid brocades, which made country bumpkin Su Qing’s zero-cost shopping urge rise.

But she was also very vigilant, for the silence here was unusual. At the crossroads of the corridors, one or two corpses lay collapsed from time to time, looking extremely grim.

However, Su Qing turned over these corpses and found that they were all managers and guards. She surmised that there must be a teleportation array here, allowing these VIPs to escape in time if they sensed danger.

Su Qing and Tian Ning both lightened their footsteps, walking silently, until passing a private room at the end of a corridor. Su Qing’s eyelid twitched, as if inspired.

She gestured with her eyes, and Tian Ning broke the room’s restriction with a single sword strike.

The two observed for a moment, then cautiously walked in.

The room was empty.

All sorts of exquisite and expensive furnishings remained as they were before anyone left.

Su Qing looked at the wall covered with talismans. Each talisman, drawn with eyes, simultaneously looked back at them as she gazed at them.

Tian Ning narrowed her eyes slightly. “Ancient Divine Language?”

This thing was difficult to learn; it required too much divine sense and mental processing. She looked around but found nothing of value.

Su Qing understood. “So it’s here. I finally found it.”

As for the Song family sisters, they were probably escorted to a safe place the moment the Heavenly Secret Alliance attacked.

After all, a gentleman does not stand under a crumbling wall; their lives were, after all, more precious.

Su Qing stepped forward, looking up at the wall covered in eye patterns. “Let me see, where are the Nine Heavens Pavilion’s good treasures exactly?”