Chapter 51: Ambush!

The auction for the elixir cauldron was extremely dramatic.

Everyone present could see the extraordinary nature of the cauldron, yet none of them placed a single bid. Even though some of the top tycoons among them could easily spare billions in assets, it was entirely not worth trading billions for a cauldron whose usage remained completely unknown.

For the Yunmei Auction House, this was an absolute windfall. From the cauldron's commission alone, they pocketed over 400 million. Furthermore, the bidding war among Zhou Chen and the other two stimulated consumption among the rest of the bidders, driving up the final transaction prices for the subsequent lots.

Zhou Chen harbored great expectations for the upcoming lots, especially after the appearance of a middle-grade spiritual-tier elixir cauldron. Did this not imply that within that ancient grotto-heaven, there might also be storage rings, storage bracelets, or similar spatial magic treasures worn by that skeleton? If he could manage to win one, it would likely be yet another ancient heritage.

Unfortunately, right up until the grand finale items were brought out, no spatial magic treasure appeared. Zhou Chen held little interest in the finale treasures of the Yunmei Auction House. They were merely weapons used by modern practitioners—hardly worthy of being called magic treasures; rather, they should be classified as magical instruments. There were also some longevity-extending elixirs that drove elderly tycoons into a frenzy.

The final grand finale item presented was a very low-level offensive spell, though it already transcended the scope of modern practitioners and belonged to the methods of immortal cultivators. It immediately triggered a scramble among those modern cultivators. Most of these modern cultivators had little wealth of their own, but the influential families backing them were wealthy, causing them to argue fiercely with flushed faces over this low-level immortal cultivation offensive manual. In the end, this manual was won by the female Foundation Establishment practitioner at a price of 8.5 billion.

Seeing this, Zhou Chen breathed a sigh of relief. From this, Zhou Chen could deduce that this woman posed no significant threat to him. The fact that she even had eyes for such a low-level manual indicated that the immortal cultivation technique she practiced was undoubtedly garbage as well. Although he did not know how she managed to reach the Foundation Establishment stage in this Age of Dharma Decline, given time, let alone the Golden Core stage, even the Nascent Soul stage was not out of the question. Once he reached the Nascent Soul realm, he would be able to suppress the entire world single-handedly!

Zhou Chen reined in his thoughts; it was still far too early to talk about suppressing the world. Over these past few days, Zhou Chen's cultivation realm remained at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation. There was no help for it—the energy required to practice the *Taiji Creation Manual* was simply too immense; he probably wouldn't break through to the fifth layer of Qi Condensation until late September. It was only because Zhou Chen felt his cultivation was slow that he thought this way; in a mere two or three months, achieving such feats meant his cultivation speed could already be called terrifying. After all, with a cheat-like cultivation tool such as the insect nest, reaching Foundation Establishment in two years at most was guaranteed!

As the final auction item was claimed, it signaled the official conclusion of this Yunmei Auction House event.

Following Xiao Yunmei's closing remarks and farewell speech, the doors leading to the main hall swung open. Guests who had successfully won lots during the auction were escorted by staff to the back office, where they could settle their payments and collect their treasures. As for Zhou Chen and Zhang Bingnan, since they hadn't won any lots, they were free to leave directly.

Zhou Chen watched as the female Foundation Establishment practitioner walked toward Cai Yameng, his heart tightening. With the strength of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, if she decided to forcefully snatch Cai Yameng's prize, truly no one present would be able to stop her.

Zhou Chen immediately dispatched a squad of Soul-Devouring Insects. Should the situation turn even slightly south, the Soul-Devouring Insects would launch an immediate assault on the female cultivator. Facing a genuine Foundation Establishment powerhouse, Zhou Chen was far from confident. He could only hope that this was a public space and that the woman would restrain herself out of fear of the Yanhuang Guardian Bureau, preventing her from acting recklessly.

In Zhou Chen's view, the Yanhuang Guardian Bureau was the nation's official cultivation institution and ought to possess exceedingly formidable entities within its ranks. If they were powerless against Foundation Establishment immortal cultivators, the entire country would likely have descended into chaos long ago.

Fortunately, the other party did not resort to force.

Through the shared vision of the insect swarm, Zhou Chen overheard the conversation between the female Foundation Establishment practitioner and Cai Yameng.

The female cultivator said, "You are merely a mortal; why insist on contending with me for this treasure? Even if your family has practitioners backing you, you have no way to use it. I have a bottle of Longevity Pills and a bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills here. How about trading them with you?"

"Each Longevity Pill can extend one's lifespan by two to three years, while the Qi-Nourishing Pills can elevate the strength of the practitioners in your family by at least two minor realms. Their value easily exceeds ten billion."

Cai Shasha, standing beside Cai Yameng, revealed a look of astonishment. As a practitioner herself, she naturally understood the immense value of Longevity Pills and Qi-Nourishing Pills.

Cai Yameng shook her head in refusal. "I'm sorry, but I have no interest in your elixirs."

Seeing Cai Yameng turn to leave, the female cultivator pressed on, "Judging by your constitution, you possess quite a rare and wondrous talent. If you take me as your master, I can mold you into a top-tier practitioner, crushing those so-called young prodigies."

"You look at me and see someone in the prime of their youth, but in truth, I have already reached a hundred years of age."

"There is no need to envy me. If you take me as your master, you too will transcend the mortal world, gaining hundreds of years of lifespan along with eternal youth."

Seeing that Cai Yameng remained indifferent to the elixirs, the female cultivator offered an even more alluring condition. Any woman would find such a temptation utterly irresistible. This was eternal youth!

Cai Shasha, being a practitioner, found her breathing growing extremely heavy upon hearing the female cultivator's words. For a female practitioner, the benefits promised by the Foundation Establishment cultivator were simply impossible to turn down. Cai Shasha desperately wanted to blurt out: Senior, what do you think of me?

Cai Yameng furrowed her brows slightly, feeling a genuine ripple of temptation in her heart. But in the end, she shook her head. "The more you push like this, the more it proves that my choice was correct. He will definitely be interested in the gift I bought."

With that, Cai Yameng turned and walked into the auction house's back office.

Meanwhile, the woman fell into deep contemplation, trying to figure out who the "he" Cai Yameng had mentioned might be.

Monitoring this dialogue through the insect swarm's shared vision, Zhou Chen stroked his chin with a somewhat peculiar expression. Could this young lady have purposely won the cauldron just to gift it to him? If that were the case, it would truly be difficult for him to refuse.

The Yunmei Auction House provided protective measures for VIPs who successfully won lots. After all, cultivators were vastly different from ordinary mortals; for the sake of cultivation, there was nothing they would not stoop to do. Moreover, their strength was far more terrifying—should they harbor malicious intent, even firearms posed no threat to them.

The Yunmei Auction House had cultivated a faction of practitioners specifically tasked with maintaining order during the auction and escorting bidders safely to designated secure zones. Figures like Cai Yameng and Cai Shasha were escorted by cultivation bodyguards provided by the auction house.

Two commercial vehicles flanked a sports car from the front and back, shielding it in the center. Cai Shasha felt this was somewhat redundant; she was a practitioner herself, and belonging to the Cai family meant that, given this background, practically no practitioner would dare harbor malicious designs against her.

Cai Yameng, however, was someone prone to a lack of security; she believed that having extra guards provided an extra layer of assurance.

In the passenger seat, Cai Yameng clutched the exquisite gift box containing the elixir cauldron. A faint, refreshing herbal fragrance drifted out from it, instantly lifting one's spirits. Cai Yameng knew she had made the right purchase this time—this was unquestionably an extraordinary and supreme treasure. She only wondered whether Zhou Chen would take an interest in it, or if he would still refuse her despite finding it interesting.

Cai Yameng felt a lingering sense of melancholy. When would she have ever imagined herself acting like a devoted flatterer just to win the favor of a man? Even so, deep down, she was filled with anticipation to see whether Zhou Chen would care for the gift she had spent a heavy fortune to acquire.

Cai Shasha, despite being a practitioner, failed to notice that nestled within Cai Yameng's hair were over a dozen tiny insects lying dormant. Zhou Chen was worried that Cai Yameng might become a target for someone coveting the elixir cauldron. After all, anyone who could take an interest in an elixir cauldron was bound to be an immortal cultivator. And immortal cultivators entirely disregarded secular laws; much like Zhou Chen himself, they felt superior to modern practitioners. Zhou Chen wouldn't find it surprising if they pulled off any crazy stunt.

It was now nearing midnight. Furthermore, the Yunmei Auction House was situated in the suburbs, making the surrounding environment eerily quiet.

The screech of a sudden, sharp brake shattered the silence.

A large tree lay horizontally across the road ahead, as if blown down by the wind.

Sensing the abnormality, the bodyguards in the commercial vehicles preceding and following the sports car immediately piled out, forming a defensive perimeter around the vehicle.

The next instant.

One of the armed bodyguards, possessing strength at the late stage of Mingjin, suddenly collapsed to the ground with a bloody hole pierced right between his eyebrows, blood pooling beneath him.

Everything happened far too quickly; not a single person present had caught sight of what had transpired.

In an instant, an unknown terror gripped the hearts of everyone there.

"Such a delicate beauty, and a buy-one-get-one-free bonus at that—she even thoughtfully helped me win the cauldron. I almost can't bear to kill you!" A sickly voice echoed out, yet it sounded ethereal and drifting, impossible to pinpoint.