Chapter 22

Noticing that almost all the gazes in the venue were instantly focused on the auction stage, the gaunt old man did not say much more, but smiled and then turned around, slowly lifting the silk scarf that covered the object.

And at the moment the object under the silk scarf appeared in everyone's line of sight, Ye Zhong could feel that the breathing of everyone in the auction house almost paused simultaneously. Those in the front, like Song Shaochen and Rong Tian, had a gleam of excitement in their eyes, clearly very moved.

Ye Zhong's gaze also quickly turned to see that in front of the old man, a half-person-tall broken stone stele had appeared. The stele was faintly engraved with some ancient and simple runes, but due to the passage of time, it was already somewhat decayed. Even so, the stele still exuded a mysterious and profound aura.

"Hum—"

After the old man glanced around, he extended his palm and gently placed it on the top of the stele. With his action, a huge humming sound instantly rose, and a burst of light appeared. Faintly, an ancient and simple building materialized in the form of light before everyone's eyes.

Although the building in the light was in ruins, it was still vaguely discernible that in its heyday, it had been grand and majestic.

"What place is that!?"

"What is that thing?"

At this moment, there were also many voices of surprise and doubt in the venue. After all, not everyone knew what the auction was about, so it was normal to have doubts.

"This thing seems a bit off..." Su Yu's gaze also swept over, and even with her temperament, she was somewhat surprised, as she could not immediately tell what it was.

"If I'm not mistaken, this item should have some connection with the先天圣殿 (先天圣殿, 'Xiantian Holy Temple')," Ye Zhong mused for a moment before speaking softly, "and this thing is also likely related to the map we have."

"先天圣殿 (Xiantian Holy Temple)!"

Upon hearing this, Su Yu's brows furrowed deeply. Something related to the Xiantian Holy Temple actually appeared so openly at the auction in Green Mountain Town? And from the look of the auction, it seemed to be solely for the purpose of auctioning this item?

"Hehe, everyone, if I'm not mistaken, the reason many of you have gathered in Green Mountain Town recently is likely because you all have a map like this, right?" The old man on the stage smiled, and then with a flick of his hand, a map unfolded in his hand. The map was filled with flowing spiritual energy, identical to the one Su Yu had.

Seeing him take out the map, many of the powerful figures present also had their eyes flicker, as they all had such a map.

"You all guessed right. This map is closely related to the Xiantian Holy Temple, and the maps you all have are genuine. According to the information we Mo Family obtained, this map was used by the Xiantian Holy Temple in the past to test new disciples. There should be nearly a hundred copies. If one can follow the map's instructions and find the Xiantian Holy Temple, they will be considered a disciple of the Xiantian Holy Temple!" The old man explained calmly. Although his tone was calm, it caused an immediate stir in the auction house, with many people's breathing becoming heavier! Many who came to Green Mountain Town had been skeptical about the authenticity of the map, but now it seemed the map was real.

"As for why this map, which has been missing for countless years, has resurfaced recently, that is something we Mo Family do not know. However, not long ago, a group of adventurers found this stone stele in the primeval forest near Green Mountain Town. According to our Mo Family's analysis, this stele should belong to the Xiantian Holy Temple. As for what this stele is and what its function is, we do not know! However, the timing of the stele's appearance is so coincidental that if it has no connection to the emergence of the Xiantian Holy Temple's ruins, I doubt many of you would believe it," the old man continued with a smile, though his words were speculative, they still made many people's eyes glow with excitement!

Because at this moment, everyone was speculating that the light and shadow that appeared on the stele was likely the Xiantian Holy Temple!

Seeing the slightly red eyes of the people around him, Ye Zhong couldn't help but shake his head. Originally, many people had a cautious attitude towards the appearance of the Xiantian Holy Temple, but the emergence of this item would likely make many lose their caution. This was not a good thing for Ye Zhong and Su Yu, who wanted to complete their sect's mission.

"It seems that even if we want to take advantage of the chaos, it won't be easy!" Ye Zhong looked at the commotion around him and couldn't help but shake his head.

Su Yu also frowned, and after a long time, she sighed, "This high-level mission is indeed not easy to complete. If it were just us young people competing, it would be fine, but I estimate that because of this broken stele, many forces and families that were originally just observing will start to get involved in the matter of the Xiantian Holy Temple's ruins. When that happens, a major battle will be inevitable, and it won't be easy for us to get any benefits."

Although Ye Zhong and Su Yu's strength was quite good among the young generation, they were ultimately a small force. Not to mention the young geniuses like Song Shaochen, who were already difficult to deal with, even the possible involvement of various forces and families was enough to cause headaches.

"What should we do now? Should we bid on that item and study it?" Ye Zhong also felt that the stele was closely related to the Xiantian Holy Temple and frowned as he asked.

Hearing this, Su Yu shook her head, "Not to mention whether we can outbid others, but at this moment, the stele is a hot potato. Whoever gets it might not necessarily be a good thing. We should just wait and see how things develop."

Ye Zhong nodded. Although he was also interested in the item, as Su Yu said, if they got the stele, they would likely become the target of everyone. In such a situation, even if they revealed their identities as inner disciples of the Star Constellation Sect, it probably wouldn't help much! Because the treasures in the ruins of the Xiantian Holy Temple were enough to make many people ignore the pressure from the Star Constellation Sect.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the venue had reached its peak. Many people were quietly discussing and studying the possibility of the stele's connection to the Xiantian Holy Temple. But the final result of many people's research was that this stele might be the key to entering the Xiantian Holy Temple!

Perhaps, only those who held this stele could obtain the inheritance of the Xiantian Holy Temple!

After all, in the Great Zhou Dynasty, apart from the Star Constellation Sect, the cultivation techniques and spiritual techniques possessed by various forces and families did not exceed the ordinary level, which made their chances of advancing to the martial realm of Xiantian extremely low! The inheritance of the Xiantian Holy Temple, which was said to greatly increase the chances of entering the martial realm of Xiantian, was extremely attractive to any force, family, or powerful figure.

Those who could advance to the martial realm of Xiantian were already considered true strong figures in the Great Zhou Dynasty! Such a realm was what everyone desired!

Therefore, at this moment, many people's gazes had become intensely hot. If they could obtain the inheritance of the Xiantian Holy Temple, it would be like ascending to the heavens in the Great Zhou Dynasty!

"Hehe, this stele is indeed related to the Xiantian Holy Temple, but as for what exactly it is and how to use it, you will have to figure it out yourselves after you get it." The old man on the auction stage smiled and said, clearly feeling that the atmosphere in the venue was sufficient. "Now, let's start the auction! The starting price is five thousand medium-grade spirit stones!"

Five thousand medium-grade spirit stones was an extremely astonishing price. Even Su Yu's eyes twitched when she heard this price, and she sighed, "At this price, we don't even have a chance to bid."

Ye Zhong also nodded. On the day he worked hard to sell spirit talismans, he only got ten medium-grade spirit stones. The Mo Family's appetite was truly great, starting with five thousand. This price would be impossible for anyone unprepared to match.

And just like Ye Zhong and Su Yu, the moment this price was announced, many people in the venue instantly lost their enthusiasm, replaced by disappointment. Clearly, the spirit stones they had were not enough to allow them to participate in the bidding.

"Six thousand medium-grade spirit stones!"

However, after a brief silence, Song Shaochen, sitting in the front row, spoke calmly, clearly well-prepared.

"Hehe, Brother Song is truly impressive, but I don't seem to want to give up either!" Rong Tian, sitting nearby, turned his head and laughed, then said calmly, "Seven thousand medium-grade spirit stones!"

"Hehe, if the two of you are so interested, it wouldn't be right for me not to join in!" Ouyang Zhuo smiled and said, "I'll go up to ten thousand medium-grade spirit stones!"

"Then I'll bid twelve thousand medium-grade spirit stones!" Ning Yu, the young lord of the Chiyun Martial Mansion, spoke calmly from another direction.

In almost no time, these outstanding figures from various forces had already doubled the price of the stele, leaving many in the venue speechless.

"Fifteen thousand!" Song Shaochen didn't even blink, instantly raising the price.

"Our senior brothers are well-prepared. Sister Su Yu, from this, it's clear that your preparation this time is not as good as theirs!" Ye Zhong smiled at Su Yu.

Su Yu huffed, "Song Shaochen and the others are clearly trying to improve themselves as much as possible for the sect's assessment in half a year. This time, for the Xiantian Holy Temple, they have likely brought the strong figures from their families. It seems they are just the surface; those hidden behind them, who have not yet appeared, are the real trouble."

"But there's no need to worry so much," Ye Zhong said calmly, "whoever gets the stele now will still have a good show to put on. We'll just watch and see..."

Page break for AD start

Page break for AD end