Top-tier Unruly Master

Heavenly Level martial artists were only legendary existences, and Ding Fan had yet to truly encounter one.

Mu Zi continued speaking, "The scale of this auction is very high, and there probably won't be more than a hundred people participating. I was lucky enough to obtain three Gold Leaf invitations."

After finishing his words, Mu Zi directly took out three leaf-shaped objects made of gold.

Ding Fan looked at the Gold Leaves and saw that they actually carried Divine Consciousness Imprints and even had streaks of Spiritual Energy flowing through them, which showed that the creator of these Gold Leaves must possess considerable skills in Artifact Refinement.

"Sister Ruoran, this one is for you," Mu Zi said, while wrapping his arm around Ruoran's.

"Thank you..." Ruoran responded with a smile on her face.

"Where did you get these Gold Leaves from?" asked Ding Fan.

According to what Mu Zi said, since the auction wasn't particularly large, acquiring these three Gold Leaves must have been quite difficult.

"Our Group 3567 is the only organization that communicates between the Hidden Sects and the officials. If we want a few Gold Leaves, they will still give us that much face," Mu Zi explained, then paused. "However, the money to buy the Gold Leaves isn't a small amount. Brother Fan, one Gold Leaf costs ten million each."

"Ten million?" Ruoran wore a look of astonishment.

Even Ding Fan was deeply moved at the moment; one invitation ticket costing ten million, this auction was indeed daring in its pricing.

However, Ding Fan didn't believe that Mu Zi mentioned the price of the Gold Leaves to ask him for the ticket money. Mu Zi saying so was probably just aiming to scrounge some treasures.

"Then let's set off now," Ding Fan said.

Since the auction was tonight, it was naturally not good to waste time now.

Ding Fan, Ruoran, and Mu Zi quickly got ready and made their way to the seaside, where Ding Fan released his Flying Sword.

Mu Zi had seen Ding Fan kill enemies with his Flying Sword many times, so she wasn't too surprised by this treasure. After the three of them stepped onto the Flying Sword, Ding Fan made a Finger Decision.

The Flying Sword instantly transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the night sky.

Dragon Snake Island wasn't too far from the mainland, and it took Ding Fan only about twenty minutes to reach the island's skies while piloting the Flying Sword.

Dragon Snake Island was fairly sizeable, with trees covering it and lush greenery all around.

Ding Fan extended his Divine Sense to explore, and surprisingly, there were strong Prohibitions on this little island. They were currently inactive but once activated, they would certainly be formidable.

At this moment, Ding Fan used Duorou's Disguise technique to transform himself into an elder with a white beard. In this place full of Dragon and Snake like characters, it wasn't wise for Ding Fan to expose his true appearance.

After landing the Flying Sword, two figures quickly approached.

The two stopped five or six steps away from Ding Fan. Despite witnessing Ding Fan arrive on a Flying Sword, the two showed no surprise, which suggested they were well-informed and experienced.

Ding Fan probed the cultivation levels of the two with his Divine Sense and found them to be around the Earth Level Fifth Grade.

Such cultivation levels, yet only serving as greeters on this island, indicated that the auction's scale was indeed substantial.

"Dragon Snake Island welcomes the senior, please present your Gold Leaves," they asked.

Ding Fan immediately showed the three Gold Leaf Blades. After the two inspected the Gold Leaves, they politely said to the trio,

"The auction is about to begin, please follow us."

After saying so, the two led the way with Ding Fan, Ruoran, and Mu Zi following behind.

They led the way, eventually arriving behind a large boulder which opened to reveal a passage leading underground.

"Senior, the auction is down below. We hope that the senior will make some gains this time. Moreover, here are three masks, please put them on."

After speaking, one of them handed Ding Fan and his companions three masks.

These masks were not Magic Artifacts, but they were still quite capable of concealing faces and blocking others' Divine Sense from probing.

Ding Fan and the others immediately put on the masks.

Footsteps echoed through the tunnel, and before long, a woman dressed to attract attention appeared before them.

"Honored guests, please follow me," the woman said, gesturing them to follow her.

Ding Fan and his group didn't delay and followed the woman down the passage.

Ding Fan kept his Divine Sense fully open as he walked, discovering that the one who arranged this tunnel was also a formidable person, with Formations and Restrictions lining the surroundings.

Considering the Gold Leaves, the mask given at the entrance to the passage, Ding Fan was now certain the owner of the auction was a Refining Master.

With that realization, Ding Fan's anticipation for the auction heightened.

Guided by the woman, they continued on until, after about ten minutes of walking, a space as large as a basketball court opened up before them.

The interior here was extremely luxurious, with dazzling lights, and if it weren't for the journey here, it would indeed be hard to imagine this was underground.

"Esteemed guests, this way, please," the woman said, leading Ding Fan and his companions to a round table where they took their seats.

As Ding Fan and the others sat down, refreshments, fruit, and pastries were promptly served by the staff.

After taking their seats, Ding Fan immediately felt probing mental powers sweeping toward him from around the room.

Ding Fan didn't mind, for he had on him a Magic Artifact that concealed his cultivation, and after his modifications, it now showed his cultivation to be that of approximately Fourth or Fifth Grade at the Earth Level.

Neither high nor low in cultivation, it wasn't likely to draw attention.

The probing mental powers investigated them for a while and, detecting nothing unusual, were subsequently withdrawn.

By this time, the auction hall was already quite populated. It seemed there were about eighty to ninety people present.

All of these individuals were seated at their own round tables, few inclined to initiate conversation with others.

Ding Fan had no interest in examining the faces of these people, for their appearances were altered by ********, masking their true visages.

Following this, several more groups arrived. After waiting for about half an hour, an elder with snow-white hair ascended the stage in front of the auction hall.

As the elder stepped onto the stage, the eyes of everyone in the auction hall focused on him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, first and foremost, welcome to our gathering. I shall dispense with pleasantries, as you all are not here to listen to an old man ramble on. Let us begin the auction formally," he said.

The elder was quite succinct in his speech.

Following the elder's concluding words, there was some applause from below the stage.

An auction where a single ticket costs ten million had Ding Fan inevitably filled with anticipation.

"The first item up for auction, Bloodstone Amber!" the elder announced in a steady voice.

Bloodstone Amber!

As if dropping a depth charge, the moment the elder uttered the name of the treasure, everyone's eyes widened and turned in his direction.

After the elder had spoken, a server approached the stage with a tray. The elder reached out and, through the air, grasped the Bloodstone Amber directly in his hand.

The Bloodstone Amber was the size of a fist. The elder held it in his hand, presenting it to everyone present.

Even Ding Fan couldn't help but earnestly gaze at the amber stone in the elder's hand.

Indeed, it was Bloodstone Amber.

After probing the stone with Divine Sense, Ding Fan was certain it was, without a doubt, Bloodstone Amber.

Bloodstone Amber was extremely precious in the Cultivation World. Once a cultivator reached a certain level, they could form a Core within their body. However, there was a chance that the Core Formation might fail.

Generally speaking, if Core Formation failed, one would be forever cut off from cultivation as the failure would deal a devastating blow to the dantian—the place where qi was stored before Core Formation. Without a place to store qi, one would be akin to a cripple.

After reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, cultivators begin the process of Solidifying Pill. In the Cultivation World, to ensure the success of Core Formation, many sought out and used Bloodstone Amber.

Bloodstone Amber was indeed a treasure that could improve the success rate of Core Formation.

Ding Fan was already at the Ninth Level of Qi Cultivation. Although there were no signs of a breakthrough yet, given his current pace of cultivation, it wouldn't take more than half a year to successfully ascend to the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment.

Previously, Ding Fan had considered whether to prepare the Bloodstone Amber in advance. Unexpectedly, without any effort, he stumbled upon it here.

Such a treasure was incredibly rare. Now that he had laid eyes on it, Ding Fan was determined not to let it go. He had already made up his mind to claim this treasure for himself.

"I'll trade for it with a Locking Gold Rope!" Just as Ding Fan was about to call out a bid, someone had already made an offer. "My Locking Gold Rope is forged from Mysterious Iron, tempered a hundred times, and it has been appraised as a Second Grade Spiritual Artifact."

A Second Grade Spiritual Artifact.

With someone naming their price, the atmosphere of the venue quickly heated up.

"Trading a Second Grade Spiritual Artifact for an agate? Isn't that a bit high, given that I've never heard of any use for Bloodstone Agate?"

"To exchange a Second Grade Locking Gold Rope for Bloodstone Agate is simply idiotic..."

...

The auction had just begun, and someone already made a move with a Second Grade Spiritual Artifact, instantly exciting the atmosphere.

While everyone assumed the person who made the offer was a fool, Ding Fan employed his Divine Sense to investigate. The bidder was an old man with a white beard.

Because he wore a mask, Ding Fan couldn't discern his face, but he could sense the elder's cultivation. Though the mask held Prohibitions that blocked mental powers, they were futile against Ding Fan.

The old man had already touched the barrier of the Earth Level Peak, and there were faint signs of Core Formation within his dantian...