The atmosphere within the auction hall flipped immediately upon those words. Those that had been distracted by the appearance of a great beauty regained their composure and focused on the actual purpose of today. They weren't here to ogle women they could never obtain. They were here to obtain precious items for their Sacred Daughters, to spend money like they didn't care about tomorrow,

Chen Wentian was also ready. He had prepared for this event for a long time, ever since he stepped foot in the Martial Brilliance Continent. He had braved many dangers to be able to confidently sit among so many powerful immortals today. He wasn’t about to leave empty-handed, without obtaining everything that Long Yifei wanted and so much more.

The auction master, Immortal Golden Basin Hu Bao, flicked his horsetail whisk and an item appeared on the stage next to him. It was a wide landscape painting, enclosed in a clear crystal case. The entire case rotated slowly, allowing everyone to study a curious scenery that depicted roiling gray clouds, sheets of rain pelting down from the heavens, and a soaring bird with sky blue feathers, a blood-red crown, and a single leg.

“This!” Hu Bao’s voice echoed around the hall, “This painting is named ‘A Moment of Clarity in a Storm, the Shangyang Sees Whole World’.”

This declaration was followed by impressed murmurs and many people nodding their heads. Even Chen Wentian, who was basically uneducated when it came to the appreciation of art couldn’t help but be impressed. The painting was deeply infused with spiritual energy, from each brush stroke by the immortal painter to the vivid colors that told a mysterious story.

“Honored guests, if you didn’t know, a shangyang is a divine beast, a bird that is born with rainclouds. It could predict the weather and its appearance in the sky is always followed by rain. When it dances on one leg, it is a sign that a calamitous storm was approaching! The artist that painted this piece wishes to remain anonymous. Even if you wanted to know, I cannot tell you. This is because they managed to befriend a shangyang and they want to protect it. Hahaha! That’s right, can you feel it? The spiritual energy of the sky, of rain, of water that exudes from this painting... this is the spiritual aura of an immortal shangyang! Whoever can obtain this painting can study it regularly to improve their understanding towards this path greatly. Come, come, let’s start the bidding at one million taels of gold!”

One million taels!

Paintings weren’t as expensive as musical instruments but it was usually expected that Sacred Daughters studying the classic of art have many different paints of different subjects and styles. This ‘A Moment of Clarity in a Storm, the Shangyang Sees Whole World’ was a high-quality work at the Spirit Lord Realm so the price was worth it.

Soon, there was a burst of spiritual energy and a shout.

“One million!”

A Spirit Lord on the opposite side of the auction hall from Chen Wentian raised their invitation badge. This person was sitting near the back rows, a sign that they were independent cultivators or members of weak and inconsequential factions.

Another surge of spiritual energy and a shout quickly followed, “One million and one hundred!”

This caused the first Spirit Lord to glare at the second one hatefully.

“One million and two hundred!” The first guy countered.

“One million and three hundred!” The second fought back.

After this, a third person jumped into the fray, followed by a fourth and then a fifth. The bids became chaotic as the price rose steadily and quickly surpassed two million taels of gold. Chen Wentian watched the scene with great interest, trying to guess what the final price would be. If he were to obtain this painting, he wouldn’t pay more than four million.

True to his estimate, the fervor of the bidders diminished as the price approached four million. The first bidder was still the most enthusiastic and looked to be the winner. However, when the price barely crested four million and as the second to last bidder signaled their defeat, a new challenger appeared.

“Five million!”

It sounded very familiar to Chen Wentian and his eyebrows shot up when he saw who it was. It was Immortal Bamboo Wave Yang Gehu, the insufferable idiot that had harassed Long Yifei and was on Chen Wentian’s list of people to utterly destroy. It seemed that this person wasn’t content just bullying defenseless women, he liked bullying random Spirit Lords as well.

“Five million and one hundred!”

The first Spirit Lord was fully invested in getting the painting and quickly made a counteroffer. However, it was obvious that he had already surpassed his limits. His face was rapidly alternating between shades of green with regret and red with anger.

This was when a second member of the Yang Clan piped up, “Five million and five hundred!”

This caused Yang Gehu to burst into laughter, “Big brother, if you want to bully someone, wait your turn. I can handle someone like this by myself! Six million!”

Chen Wentian rolled his eyes and stopped paying attention to their nonsense. He didn’t know what was wrong with people from the Yang Clan of Great Waves and he didn’t care. It was probably mental illness, one that was passed down through the generations.

The first bidder bowed out reluctantly and Yang Gehu won the painting for an even six million taels of gold. By bidding two million over the market price, it was a loud declaration of the might of the Seven Potentates of Jiannan.

Auction Master Hu Bao clapped his hands to close the first sale and moved on to the next item. It was an instrument, an erhu made from the bones of a sun crane and with strings spun from its feathers. A sun crane was an origin beast with the power of flames. Music from such an erhu would produce music with fire and passion.

A crowd of loose cultivators fought over the item as it was a decent instrument in the lesser realms that lay between mortality and immortality. However, it was still won by a member of the Seven Potentates, Undying Medicine Valley in the end.

The third item followed and it was something Chen Wentian wanted. It was an ancient song carved into a stone tablet. Its name was 'Hymns from a Wintery Flower Orchard'. The tablet was around waist height and crumbling at the edges. The song was one of many artifacts steadily unearthed from the famous ruins of an empire that fell to mysterious circumstances. Some of the text was lost to history but most of it still remained. It had a connection to a lost history, the cold winter, and all kinds of flowers. It was everything Long Yifei wanted as it connected many aspects of her background.

Excitement surged within him as the auction master finished describing the item. He wanted this song and he had in his spatial bag piles of gold and spiritual crystals begging to be spent. Long Yifei was depending on him and he couldn’t let her down.

“Two million!” He shouted the starting bid.

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