"But I think you, Senior, need this herb more. I wouldn't dare compete with you, right?" Flauntingly trying to haggle with me on the spot—do you think I'm stupid? This time, I'll make you shoot yourself in the foot. Ye Lanshan felt a surge of satisfaction.
Across from her, the old man reluctantly handed over the money to the auction house.
"Wah, how can you bully an old man like this? No, I have to see who's over there." The old man hugged the Fusheng Grass, weeping bitterly, grieving over the money he'd just lost.
Item after item was auctioned off, yet none caught Ye Lanshan's interest. Though everything here was priceless and extraordinarily rare, none were what she needed.
Beside her, Mu Ziming had snapped up a few trinkets, mostly divine weapons and sharp tools.
Just as she was growing bored, a box below caught her attention. The box itself was plain, even shabbier than the one holding her purple sand stone, but the faint spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from it were unmistakable—this was something from her past life, though she couldn't tell what it was.
The next item up for auction was a peculiar divine artifact. Since its discovery, no one had been able to make it recognize a master. The starting bid was ten thousand mystic stones.
The Fuxi Qin—how could it appear on this continent? Ye Lanshan, who had been indifferent, suddenly snapped to attention.
"Brother Shan, are you planning to bid on this divine artifact? I've heard it's a killing tool. Everyone who tried to claim it ended up dead, and even those who barely managed to use it were eventually devoured by its backlash. Are you sure you want to buy it?" Mu Ziming had heard of this artifact.
Rumor had it that when it first appeared at the Fusheng Auction Pavilion, the first buyer's blood dripped onto the strings. A string suddenly moved, producing a loud sound that blasted everyone nearby, and the buyer's internal organs were shattered, killing him instantly.
Of course, some didn't believe the tales, but none succeeded in claiming it—all were killed by the artifact instead.
Some said the artifact had a spirit as intelligent as a human, extremely proud, and only those stronger than it could wield it.
That's why the Fusheng Auction Pavilion kept putting it up for sale, but it never sold.
"That's because they don't understand the Fuxi Qin!" Ye Lanshan had first learned of the Fuxi Qin from an ancient text. Legend said it was one of the top ten divine artifacts of antiquity, a formidable weapon, but it vanished without a trace a thousand years ago after falling into the hands of a powerful female cultivator.
Still, it wasn't surprising. Among the ten divine artifacts of the modern era, the only ones not lost were the Xuanyuan Sword, the Refining Demon Pot, and the Shennong Cauldron in her possession.
She never expected the Fuxi Qin to appear on this continent. Could there be other cultivators here?
Questions swirled in Ye Lanshan's mind, but no one could answer them.
"Ten thousand and one mystic stones." Ye Lanshan calmly called out a price.
"Ten thousand and two mystic stones." Even though this artifact was a killer, some still wanted it.
"Ten thousand and three mystic stones." Ye Lanshan raised the bid again.
"Ten thousand and four mystic stones." A weak voice came from across the room.
"It seems you, Senior, also want the Fuxi Qin. How about—" Ye Lanshan's eyes flickered with curiosity as she glanced toward the other side. She hadn't made any enemies, so why was this person targeting her?
In truth, it wasn't personal. The old man across from her had put the Fusheng Grass up for auction himself, hoping to get a good price by driving up the bids. But he overplayed his hand, and Ye Lanshan saw through it, leaving him trapped.
Now, out of spite for being tricked, he was nudging the price up to make her pay more. But he didn't dare go too high, as he had little money left.
"No, no. I already feel bad about snatching the Fusheng Grass from you earlier. Since you want this artifact, I'll let you have it." The old man quickly waved his hand, even though she couldn't see him.
"Then thank you, Senior. Ten thousand and five mystic stones." Ye Lanshan wasn't about to back down like last time. Her earlier words were just to scare the old man. Luckily, he knew when to yield.
"Ten thousand and five mystic stones, going once."
"Ten thousand and five mystic stones, going twice."
This time, the auctioneer didn't call out as briskly as before. He dragged it out, hoping someone would raise the bid, but no one did until the gavel fell.
It wasn't that the artifact wasn't worth the price—it was that its deadly reputation was too fearsome. Few dared to take the risk.
Others silently mocked the fool who bought the Fuxi Qin, calling him rich but stupid.
When the Fuxi Qin was delivered to her room, Ye Lanshan said flatly, "I'll pay after the auction ends."
"Yes." No one dared to default at the Fusheng Auction House, so they weren't worried she wouldn't pay—the consequences were severe.
With a *twang*, Ye Lanshan plucked a string, then played an unfamiliar tune from a score she knew.
The sound lingered, ethereal like celestial music.
"Not drunk on wine, but drunk on this qin. Brother Shan, I never knew you had such talent." Everyone was entranced, lost in the melody.
"Brother Mu flatters me. I was just playing casually." Through this tune, Ye Lanshan sensed the artifact's spirit gradually softening.
Indeed, all divine artifacts are the same. If I could conquer the Shennong Cauldron, I can conquer you too.
On the stage, the auctioneer brought out the next item, but by then, everyone in the Fusheng Auction House was restless.
Whispers spread: he could touch the qin's body without dying and even play a divine tune.
Could it be that no one had been able to contract it before because their methods were wrong? That the artifact's spirit wasn't conquered by force, but by talent?
With everyone's minds stirred, few paid serious attention to the auction.
When the purple sand stone appeared on the stage, both the private rooms and the main hall erupted. Refiners went wild, bidding frantically as if they'd lost all reason.
In no time, the purple sand stone's price soared to two hundred sixty-four thousand mystic stones, eventually selling for three hundred thousand.
If the purple sand stone hadn't been an unadvertised last-minute addition, it might have fetched even more.
"Tsk, that valuable? I should have brought out more pieces." Ye Lanshan shook her head regretfully.
"Instead of worrying about that, think about how we're going to get out of here." Mu Ziming's face was grim, as if something terrible had happened.