Chapter 1132: Peak of the Cloud Sea, The Circle of shattered nirvana

Until the very end, Wang Lin did not state the specific reason, instead sidestepping the matter with his words.

The more he acted this way, the more suspicious Ouyang Long felt, increasingly sensing that the ordinary-looking young man in white before him was shrouded in mystery.

Unable to press the issue, Ouyang Long gave a wry smile and shook his head, dropping the subject. Instead, he cupped his fists and reminded, "Fellow Daoist, according to the rules here for this private auction, the one thing most forbidden is to hide one's appearance or conceal one's identity." With that, he walked to the stone door at the end of the passage and knocked on it lightly a few times.

A moment later, the stone door shuddered, and ripples appeared on its surface, as if it were melting, gradually becoming blurred. Ouyang Long turned back to cup his fists at Wang Lin, then turned and stepped into the ripples, his figure vanishing.

Wang Lin pondered for a moment. He did not conceal his appearance; since he dared to come, he was not afraid of causing trouble. He walked forward and stepped into the ripples, his figure disappearing.

His vision blurred for a moment. When it cleared, Wang Lin's eyes focused as he looked around. He was in a room about several dozen zhang in size. The floor of this room was made of some unknown material, completely transparent, allowing him to clearly see the battle between two Vicious Beasts on a stone platform ten thousand zhang below.

Scattered chairs were placed inside the room, surrounding a single seat at the front. Seven Cultivators sat calmly on the chairs, none of them concealing their appearances. The moment Wang Lin entered, their gazes converged upon him.

Their gazes were like swords, extremely sharp. As they landed on Wang Lin, it felt almost tangible, causing a chill to rise on his skin. One of them paused slightly upon seeing Wang Lin, but quickly returned to normal and gestured with a smile.

In particular, the person in the seat directly in front was an old man with silver hair, wearing a gray robe. His eyes were slightly closed, but a faint gleam leaked from the slits of his eyelids, sweeping toward Wang Lin. His expression was dignified, and his cultivation had reached the Middle Stage of shattered nirvana. Behind him, Ouyang Long bowed and whispered something into the old man's ear.

Wang Lin's expression remained normal. Under the gaze of everyone, he walked forward, reached a chair, and sat down calmly. His eyes were calm as they opened and closed. While surveying the group, he cupped his fists slightly toward the person who had smiled at him earlier.

Wu Qing had not expected to see Wang Lin here again and was quite surprised, but the fact that Wang Lin could enter a private auction of this scale made Wu Qing hold him in even higher regard.

As Wang Lin's gaze swept casually over the room, he noted that among the seven people sitting in the chairs—besides the gray-haired old man, who was clearly Ouyang Long's Junior Martial Uncle, and Wu Qing—the other five all had cultivation at the Early Stage of shattered nirvana!

Sitting directly opposite Wang Lin was a young scholar with a fair complexion. He lightly waved a feather fan in his hand, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger. When Wang Lin looked at him, the scholar smiled slightly, his gaze toward Wang Lin revealing a hint of interest.

Beside this person sat a young woman wearing a floral-patterned jacket. She was bright and moving, sitting there with a touch of laziness. Her eyes wandered, sweeping across Wang Lin's face, before she paid him no further attention.

Not far away sat another old man. This person's appearance was very strange; his face was full of pits, looking quite terrifying at first glance. His eyes revealed a sinister quality as he rubbed the ring on the index finger of his right hand, turning it constantly.

Besides these three, Wang Lin also observed the other two, all while keeping his composure.

Not far to his left sat an old man in a black robe. He was gaunt with thin lips. In his left hand, which looked like an eagle's claw, he held two beads the size of an infant's fist. As his left hand moved, the two beads circled each other, occasionally bumping together with a soft clinking sound.

The last person was an old woman with snow-white hair and wrinkled skin, wearing a green robe. She sat there motionless, but when Wang Lin's gaze swept over her, her eyes were like lightning, and she gave Wang Lin another cold glare.

This was clearly a small gathering exclusively for Cultivators at the shattered nirvana stage, and it was of a very high caliber. Being able to enter here represented an acknowledgment of one's status and strength. If Wang Lin hadn't easily injured the three from the Demon Cong Dao in the marketplace, and given the large volume of his transaction this time, he would likely have found it very difficult to enter.

Even having entered now, in the eyes of the others, he was just at the bottom of the hierarchy.

After Ouyang Long finished speaking beside the gray-haired old man, he straightened up and stood respectfully to the side.

The gray-haired old man gave a dry cough, his eyes sweeping over the surrounding Cultivators, and his hoarse voice echoed throughout the room.

"Today is my, Cang Songzi's, private gathering. I have invited some old friends and acquaintances, and of course, there are two new Fellow Daoists. I won't waste time with polite pleasantries. Following the old rules, let's place our bets to add some excitement." After the old man finished, Ouyang Long immediately stepped forward, took six Jade Slips from his Storage Space, and handed them one by one to the six people, including Wang Lin. The last one was respectfully handed to the gray-haired old man.

Wang Lin took the Jade Slip and scanned it with his Divine Sense. He immediately saw clearly that the Jade Slip contained data on over a hundred Vicious Beasts.

"There's actually a Sword Lion Beast! I'll bet on this beast!" The old man with the pitted face laughed, made a slight adjustment with his Divine Sense within the Jade Slip, and tossed it toward Ouyang Long.

Wang Lin remained composed as his Divine Sense scanned the Vicious Beasts within the Jade Slip. His knowledge of Vicious Beasts was not high; the few records from the Guiyuan Sect were simply not enough. Most of the Vicious Beasts in this Jade Slip were ones not recorded by the Guiyuan Sect.

While checking the Jade Slip, Wang Lin gained quite a bit of insight regarding Vicious Beasts. Seeing that the others had already tossed out their Jade Slips, Wang Lin chose a Vicious Beast named Winged Cloud, placed a bet of one hundred Immortal Jade, and handed the Jade Slip to Ouyang Long.

The gray-haired old man smiled slightly and said, "Today, let's see whose judgment will win. We will have the answer to this matter later. For now, I have three treasures here that I'd like to let you all observe. If anyone is interested, feel free to name your price." As the old man spoke, he waved his right hand, and three beams of crystalline light flew out, hovering in the air.

The first of these three items was a Flying Sword. The sword was crystalline throughout and exuded a piercing cold. Within it, a streak of blood flowed, giving the Flying Sword an added aura of Evil Qi.

The second item was a piece of broken armor. It emitted an aura of vicissitudes, as if it had endured the eternity of time.

The third item was a Medicinal Pill. The pill was pitch black and had no medicinal fragrance at all. Instead, a terrifying fluctuation faintly emanated from within it, causing Wang Lin's gaze to linger on it for a moment.

"The first item is the Blood Crystal Sword. I killed nearly a thousand eighth-order Vicious Beasts to create this sword, refining it with all their blood. When the sword was completed, I even asked Senior Dao Yezhi to consecrate it, doubling its power. In particular, the blood line within it contains a strange poison; those wounded by this sword will not only suffer damage to their Physical Body, but their Primordial Spirit will also be poisoned and wither."

"Senior Dao Yezhi consecrated it?" The beautiful young woman in the floral jacket summoned it with her right hand, and the Blood Crystal Sword immediately flew into her hand. After examining it carefully for a few moments, she let go, and the Flying Sword returned to mid-air.

"This second item has a set of Divine Ability recorded on it, but it is rather damaged and cannot be Cultivated, which is a great pity. As for the third item, it depends on your judgment, Fellow Daoists. If you wish to trade for them, you should know my rules: I only want Immortal Jade!" After the gray-haired old man finished speaking, he smiled and remained silent, observing the others.

Except for Wang Lin and the wrinkled old woman in green who did not move, the other four summoned the three treasures one by one to examine them. The Blood Crystal Sword was bought by the beautiful young woman; the specific cost she transmitted via voice transmission to Cang Songzi, so outsiders did not know.

As for the fragment, no one showed any interest. Wang Lin's expression remained normal. He waved his right hand, and the fragment landed in his hand. He spread his Divine Sense, but his focus was not on the Divine Ability or Cultivation Technique within, but rather on calmly examining the material of the fragment.

The fragment resembled bone, but upon closer inspection, it didn't look like it, causing him to ponder.

The middle-aged scholar held the black Medicinal Pill in his hand and sniffed it, looking hesitant. He looked at the gray-haired old man and said, "Cang Songzi, I offer five hundred Immortal Jade for this pill!"

Cang Songzi shook his head and said slowly, "A hundred times that!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the gazes of the surrounding Cultivators tightened as they looked at the Medicinal Pill. These people were all shattered nirvana Old Monsters; they did not reveal their emotions in their expressions. Even though their gazes were fixed on it, it was difficult for outsiders to detect any clues in their expressions.

The middle-aged scholar was silent for a moment, then gave a wry smile. Hearing this price, he was convinced of his own guess. Without another word, he put the Medicinal Pill into his embrace and nodded to Cang Songzi.

Cang Songzi smiled, his gaze falling on Wang Lin, and he laughed, "Fellow Daoist, have you taken a fancy to this item?"

Wang Lin looked up, his face showing hesitation. After thinking for a moment, he said, "This item is useless to me, but I happen to like such rare oddities. I offer one hundred Immortal Jade."

Cang Songzi pondered for a moment, then waved his hand after a while and laughed, "I didn't originally intend to sell this item; I mainly wanted to see if anyone could recognize what it was. Since you like it, Fellow Daoist, I'll just give it to you."

Wang Lin cupped his fists in thanks and put away the fragment.

"I misjudged it earlier. I didn't expect this pill to really be the Hunyuan Pill, which can threaten Cultivators at the shattered nirvana stage. However, with only one pill, its power is still insufficient." The old man holding the two spheres in his hand spoke slowly.

As he spoke, the old man waved his right hand, and two items flew out, floating in mid-air.

One was a crimson feather, and the other was a bubble the size of a human head. Inside the bubble was a beast soul. Half of this soul's body was in the shape of a Dragon, while the other half had turned into mist. It struggled and roared within the bubble, trying to break out.

Once these two items were brought out, the room suddenly fell silent, and all gazes turned toward them. Wang Lin stared at the crimson feather, his heart shaken, but he concealed it perfectly, revealing nothing.

"The first item is suspected to be a feather of the Vermilion Bird from back then. Although it is difficult to distinguish the true from the false, the fire essence on it is rarely dense. As for the second item, I don't need to say much; it is the soul of a twelfth-order Vicious Beast that has half-transformed into mist. I don't have as many rules as Cang Songzi. If you want to trade for them, anything is acceptable, as long as it moves me." After the old man finished speaking, he observed the group and said no more.

"What a pity, it's only a Vicious Beast that has half-transformed into mist… What a pity!" Wu Qing looked at the Vicious Beast within the bubble and sighed, shaking his head.

"If it were a truly mist-transformed Vicious Beast, would I be selling it?" The old man snorted coldly.