CH 166

Chapter 166 – Divine Torrent Boundary-Breaking Pill

“Know your place,” Xu Disheng said, opening his eyes to gaze at the weak woman. “You sit there and quietly wait on standby. One day later, you will speak my bids for me at the auction. Don’t disturb me again.”

The woman in the white dress looked like she wanted to say something again, but when she suddenly saw the hint of bone-chilling cold in the youth’s indifferent, profound gaze, she immediately shut her mouth. She felt a hint of the cold seep into her chest, and she no longer dared to speak.

… …

“Sister Ling’er, are you really going to marry Hong Zhao?” a small girl with her hair tied up into two cute pigtails lifted her head and asked, waving her long white tail back and forth.

“Little Yu, where did you hear that?” Lu Ling replied. She was wearing a long light pink skirt, and her black hair was tied up into an attractive-looking bun. Her facial features were beautiful and refined, and her fair white skin matched the color of her white tail, which waved gently to and fro. A stream of pure demonic qi wrapped around her and the girl’s body rose lightly into the air.

“Don’t worry about that. Why don’t you just answer me?” Little Yu said, standing up. There was a hint of a ridiculing smile on her small face as she continued, “Hong Zhao is pretty handsome, but his bloodline concentration is a bit lacking.”

Lu Ling didn’t respond. The white tail beneath her dress moved, and a mass of demonic qi coalesced into being and covered Little Yu’s mouth.

“Ah—W—” Little Yu had just opened her mouth, but several streams of demonic qi stuffed her mouth, rendering her unable to speak.

A hint of a smile graced the corners of the girl’s eyes, but her thoughts ended up thoroughly drowning out the smile before it could bloom.

Ever since she was a child, she had this strange, recurring dream.

Over a boundlessly vast expanse of water, black waves rose up in massive crests, shaking the heavens with each crashing tide. Countless bolts of purple thunder tore the heavens asunder and rain poured down in torrents. It looked like there was a crack in the skies, which had always been the same since time immemorial.

The girl curled up her body and serpent tail, hiding in an ice-cold crevice in a reef. Her hair was sodding wet from the torrential downpour outside, sticking clammily to her face. She was trembling from the cold, bearing the fearful dread of this dream all by herself.

Every time she had this dream, Lu Ling would always wake up suddenly in a cold sweat, all alone on the couch. She would tremble and quiver as if she had fallen into a bottomless abyss.

This continued to happen until one time, the bone-piercing cold in the dream seemed to reach an utmost limit, and then suddenly saw a bright, golden light appear before her eyes.

The rain continued to pour down in torrents, but the girl could feel a kind of warmth. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself surrounded by watery mist. She strained her eyes to try and see clearly through the golden light.

When the golden light subsided, a handsome youth in a white Buddhist robe was by her side on the reef. A golden profound light was springing from his hand, which was protecting her from the wind and rain.

The purple lightning in the skies was even more intense, and the rumbling of thunder resounded deafeningly. The black seas rose up in waves hundreds of meters high, blotting out the sky and sweeping everything away.

With a sudden impulse of emotion, she threw herself into the youth’s embrace. She rested her head on the youth’s chest, greedily basking in his warmth amidst the despondent cold.

“It’s okay now. Don’t cry,” the youth in the white Buddhist robe said tenderly. He lifted his arms and wrapped Lu Ling in his embrace, gently resting his chin on her forehead.

Suddenly, the scene broke and she was wrested from the depths of the dream.

This time, there wasn’t despair on Lu Ling’s small face like in the past whenever she had this dream. She awoke with a light smile on her face, as if she was still relishing in that warm embrace.

But after that, the dream never came again.

That bone-chilling cold, and that embrace that she was reluctant to part with… All of it disappeared without a trace.

Ever since the day she awakened her bloodline and started cultivating the demonic laws, she never dreamed anymore.

All until that one day when she went with Zhang Zeming to the Shangqing Sacred Sect to see Primordial Lord Yangze. She had disguised herself as an ordinary male disciple and went to the Internal Disciple Tournament that was coincidentally taking place that day, just to see what all the festivities were all about.

It was there that she happened to catch a glimpse of that youth, who brought her memories of that dream rushing back like the tide.

… …

A day’s time came and went. Xu Disheng opened his eyes and looked through the arrays at the Grand Auction taking place outside his window.

From the box suite, it was possible to clearly see the massive stage on the first floor and the disciples sitting on the luxurious seats below.

But any of the disciples that looked up at the box suites from the first floor would only see a hazy, ever-changing array. They wouldn’t be able to see through it at all.

The box suites on the second floor had gradually been filled up as the official start of the Grand Auction approached. The nearly 1,000 seats on the first floor were also completely filled to the brim.

A man at the Dao Foundation stage walked up onto the stage. After looking around at the crowd, he spoke with profound qi amplifying his voice. “I am Wu Youcai of the Grand Erudition House. I cannot express my gratitude enough to all of you who have come to attend our Grand Auction. We assure you that you will not leave disappointed. In just one incense stick of time, the Grand Auction will officially begin. You may all take a look at the record jade slips cataloging the items for auction. If you see anything that catches your eye, you must be prepared for when it comes around.”

Xu Disheng picked up the jade slip on the desk and fiddled with it.

“Young master, is there anything that catches your eye?” the woman in the white-dress asked, seeing Xu Disheng finally stop cultivating. She had been silent and alone for an entire day by this point.

“If there’s anything I want to place a bid for, I will let you know.”

Xu Disheng put down the jade slip and looked at the auction below. The first item had already been placed on a table in the center of the stage, drawing everyone’s attention.

“I didn’t think the first item would be such a precious treasure.” Some of the onlookers’ eyes flashed when they saw the spiritual herb on the table.

“Divine Torrent Herb. It’s extremely rare and said to only grow in the coldest of places. It’s also a main ingredient in refining the Divine Torrent Boundary-Breaking Pill.”

An inexperienced Sea of Qi stage disciple who hadn’t seen much of the world asked, “Divine Torrent Boundary-Breaking Pill?”

“The Divine Torrent Boundary-Breaking Pill is a type of extremely expensive pill that offers a major boost to peak Dao Foundation stage disciples looking to consolidate their Divine Core,” a knowledgeable peak Sea of Qi stage genius said. He continued flatly, “The pill is so rare that it’s not readily available in the markets. Whenever one does appear, each one costs at least 10,000 spirit stones.”

Wu Youcai walked onto the stage once more and said in his resonant voice, “You may have already checked your jade slips and seen that the value of the item itself may not be very high, but it is indeed rare. It is one of the main ingredients in refining the Divine Torrent Boundary-Breaking Pill. There are three of this herb in total. Starting bid of 7,000 spirit stones.”

Light began to appear above Xu Disheng’s jade slip. After a while, it formed into several words. “Second floor, No. 65.”

Presumably, this was his number for the auction.

“8,000 spirit stones!” A Dao Foundation stage disciple on the first floor with a square face and large ears said excitedly.

“10,000 spirit stones.”

“13,000 spirit stones!”

… …

Wu Youcai’s smiling expression remained unchanged as the shouting of bids continued. Next to him, several disciples were recording down the bids as they came.

Once someone called out 17,000 spirit stones, the number of people continuing to shout out bids immediately cut down to about 4-5 people.

Although the Divine Torrent Herb was extremely rare, this was pretty much the extent of its value. It was also only an ingredient herb, so whoever bought it would still have to go through the effort of refining it into a pill.