Battle Through the Heavens: Soul Travels Through Clouds and Mountains, Becoming a Winning Artist

Chapter 47 is a powerful dose of criticism.

Not long after, Guhe finished collecting the pills, and the fragrance of the pills lingering in the air began to dissipate.

Under the fragrant aroma, the mysterious man in black robes finally breathed a sigh of relief. He cupped his hands to the gathered crowd, his voice filled with undisguised joy: "Thank you all for your cooperation. I am deeply grateful."

Before he finished speaking, he activated his battle qi to transform into wings and returned to the courtyard.

The people from the Heavenly Serpent Palace, the Blood Sect, and the Black Skull Tomb exchanged wary glances before leading their respective groups away.

"What a pleasant surprise to see an unfamiliar Rank 5 alchemist... I must tell my father as soon as possible..." the pale-faced youth murmured to himself.

Several major factions harbored their own agendas, and undercurrents surged within Black Seal City. They tacitly began purging smaller factions located near Yun Congxin's residence, and friction between them intensified.

This hotel belongs to the Eight Gates and was originally quite peaceful and stable. But now, new corpses are being hauled away every day along with the garbage.

Therefore, the Eight Doors had no choice but to send more powerful experts to guard the area.

A mysterious Dou Wang powerhouse, plus an alchemist of at least the fifth rank—such a combination is rare even in the entire Northwest Continent, and deserves the attention of all major powers.

Therefore, many Grand Masters quietly appeared in front of the hotel where Yun Congxin and others were staying.

People from forces such as the Heavenly Serpent Mansion also began to arrive at the hotel and stay there, quickly filling up all the best courtyards.

With many "eyes" suddenly appearing around them, Xiao Yan and Xiao Yu, the siblings, began to stay home and rarely went out. Even Gu He and Nalan Yanran reduced the number of times they went out.

Yun Congxin pretended not to know about all the changes around him, and continued to leisurely enjoy tea and bask in the sun in the courtyard.

Yun Congxin didn't leave the courtyard until the day before the auction began. He was wearing a large black robe and had an ice silk mask covering his face, completely obscuring his figure and appearance.

"Elder Qing, that person has come out..." The people from the Heavenly Serpent Mansion saw Yun Congxin's movements immediately and quickly reported to the Dou Huang expert from the Heavenly Serpent Mansion.

Elder Qing, who was feeding his little snake, quickly put down the jade bottle upon hearing this and ordered, "Pass down the order to closely monitor his movements and create opportunities for me to meet with him alone. You, come here and feed the little guy."

After saying that, she sat down in front of the bronze mirror to touch up her makeup.

"If I could invite a fifth-grade alchemist to my Heavenly Serpent Palace, even just as a guest elder, the merit would be no less than winning the bid for that item..." Elder Qing thought to himself as he painted his eyebrows.

The Blood Sect members were quick as well. The pale-faced young man pondered for a moment after hearing the news, then said, "Prepare a banquet! Go tell the manager I want the best food, and have the kitchen prepare it now! Keep a close eye on him; report back immediately when he returns!"

Yun Congxin knew, of course, that his movements were completely controlled by several forces. Now, wherever he went, it was as if he were standing in the center of a stage, attracting everyone's attention.

He strolled leisurely into the Black Seal Auction House, where he found elders from the Eight Gates already waiting. One of them was a charming woman who, upon seeing Yun Congxin, let out a silvery laugh and spoke in a chillingly sweet voice, "Mr. Jiaxing, I've kept you waiting! Would you like to appraise a treasure or participate in an auction today?"

"Auction..." Yun Congxin said softly.

"Please come with me." The woman gestured and led Yun Congxin into a secret room.

The Eight Doors had already investigated and knew that Yun Congxin had brought three attractive maids with him, concluding he was a lecherous man. That's why they sent this elder to meet with Yun Congxin. She sat down beside him with a smile and whispered in his ear, "What are you planning to auction, sir...?"

Yun Congxin got goosebumps all over his body. He took out more than a dozen jade bottles from his storage ring and said, "Windwalking Pill, Azure Origin Pill, Restoration Pill, and Blood Burning Pill are all fifth-grade pills."

Even with expectations, Yun Congxin's extravagant gesture still surprised her.

There's no way to auction them like this. As the saying goes, scarcity increases value. If two or three grade-five pills were offered at one auction, each one could fetch millions of gold coins. But if a dozen or so are offered at once like this, the price per pill will likely be lower.

It's not impossible for the total to be several million gold coins short.

"This... to be able to produce so many grade-five pills, even an ordinary grade-five alchemist probably couldn't do it. That alchemist must have at least reached the threshold of grade six..." The elder of the Eight Gates thought to herself, her delicate body pressing even closer to Yun Congxin.

"Mr. Jiaxing, auctioning so many pills at once will probably not fetch a high price... Everyone who comes to the auction has a budget, and the final transaction price will be much lower than if they are auctioned off gradually."

"How about this, you take some of these pills back first, and we'll only auction one or two this time, and deal with the rest gradually, okay?"

Yun Congxin smiled and shook his head, saying, "Let's just auction it off this time."

"Mr. Jia Xing is indeed generous. Could you tell me why I'm in such a hurry? If it's because you urgently need money, my Eight Doors can lend you some to ease your immediate crisis."

"My brother and I have always loved collecting things, and this auction is no exception," Yun Congxin said with a smile. "We are interested in rare and exotic items, fragments of cultivation manuals, and Xuan-rank combat techniques."

"What if it's a Tier 1 combat skill?" The young woman revealed a charming smile.

But Yun Congxin shook her head and said, "No."

"Why is that? No matter how many Xuan-rank fighting techniques there are, they can't compare to Di-rank fighting techniques!" the woman asked in surprise.

"Earth-rank combat skills are too expensive, and most of them are the lifeblood of powerful sects, which will bring trouble. I don't want them." Yun Congxin said the reasons he had made up, but in his heart he was thinking about taking all the good things in this auction.

Wasn't the Blood Sect already prepared to seize all the treasures? They're just playing the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!

After exchanging pleasantries with her for a while, Yun Congxin got up and took her leave.

"A strange fellow..." After seeing Yun Congxin off, the elder of the Eight Doors muttered, "He only wants the appetizers at the auction, but isn't interested in the main attraction. Is he a junk collector?"

"Regardless, I've figured out his personality, and I need to report to the sect leader as soon as possible..."

As soon as Yun Congxin stepped out of the Black Seal Auction House, he saw Elder Qing of the Heavenly Serpent Mansion walking towards him.

She went out with light makeup, and when she saw Yun Congxin, she feigned surprise and greeted him with a cupped hand: "Mr. Jiaxing, what a coincidence! You're here at the auction too?"

Yun Congxin also pretended to be having a chance encounter, and returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "Yes, I just finished and was just about to go back."

"What a coincidence! I'm also heading back to my hotel. We're going the same way. Would it be my pleasure to travel with Mr. Jiaxing?"