Chapter 2033, Another Fierce Master Confounded, Kang Si Ran didn’t ask any more questions about it and instead just said, “So it seems Alchemist Yang wants to participate in this auction?” “Yes, but I don’t have many Source Crystals on hand,” Yang Kai furrowed his brow, wondering whether he should take out something to leverage for more. [Perhaps... I can take out a piece of Heavy Earth? I don’t need to take out much of it, just a thumbnail-sized piece should be enough to pay for this auction.] [But once the Heavy Earth appears, it will cause a lot of trouble.] “Haha, since this Artifact Spirit has such a relationship with Alchemist Yang, Alchemist Yang should bid for it without restraint. Don’t worry about Source Crystals, this old master can pay for them on your behalf. Alchemist Yang can pay me back when he has enough Source Crystals of his own,” Kang Si Ran generously offered. Yang Kai turned to Kang Si Ran and asked with a frown, “But Shopkeeper Kang, don’t you need those to bid for the Dao Source Fruit?” Kang Si Ran waved his hand and smiled. “At first, this old master indeed had some plans for the Dao Source Fruit, but now, this old master does not expect to win it with the few Source Crystals he has on him. I had not expected so many Dao Source Realm masters to appear at this auction, and their wealth is undoubtedly far superior to this old master’s. Since Alchemist Yang is in such urgent need, this old master will offer his assistance. As for the Dao Source Fruit... heh heh, we’ll just have to go and explore that cave mansion. Who knows, there might even be a Dao Source Pill inside!” “Shopkeeper Kang, how many Source Crystals do you have?” Yang Kai asked in a solemn tone. Kang Si Ran raised his palm and stretched out his fingers, “I don’t have more than this, I hope it will be enough to help Alchemist Yang.” “Excellent! Many thanks, Brother Kang, I will not forget this kindness,” Yang Kai earnestly thanked. Kang Si Ran’s generosity had touched Yang Kai’s heart and he secretly decided that if Kang Si Ran didn’t get the Dao Source Fruit this time, or find a Dao Source Pill in the cave mansion they were planning to explore soon, he would give Kang Si Ran a Dao Source Pill when he refined them in the future to repay today’s favour. Having been in contact with Kang Si Ran these days, Yang Kai felt that he was a good man and someone worth making friends with. With Kang Si Ran’s assistance, Yang Kai confidence had been greatly boosted; after all, the earlier Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Alchemy Furnace only sold for 6 million Source Crystals, and obviously, Liu Yan’s value was not higher than that of the Black Jade Furnace. Even if she was an Artifact Spirit that had gained sentience, she was still only at the Third-Order Origin King level, so the assistance she could provide for real masters was limited. However, there was still something else to worry about. Just as Yang Kai was considering this, on the stage, Drunkard continued to speak, “This Artifact Spirit seems to have had many fortuitous encounters and not only possesses rich, pure Fire Attribute energy, but it can also control Thunder Attribute energy. Everyone should not underestimate this Artifact Spirit; an ordinary Third-Order Origin King would certainly not be its opponent in a one-on-one situation, only a Dao Source Realm master could possible subdue it, so even if some friends out there don’t cultivate Fire Attribute Secret Arts, obtaining this Artifact Spirit will still be of great use as it could act as a powerful assistant!” Yang Kai’s face turned even blacker when heard Drunkard singing Liu Yan’s praises, cursing in his heart as he wished he could rush up to the stage and sew Drunkard’s mouth shut. The more he praised Liu Yan, the more enthusiastic the bidders would be and the worse things would be for Yang Kai. “And, last but not least, this Artifact Spirit... heh heh, also has another form,” A meaningful grin suddenly appeared on Drunkard’s face as he gazed out across the crowd before forming another seal, causing the chain-like seals around Liu Yan to tighten again. Liu Yan cried out in pain as she was forced to transform into a charming and graceful woman wearing fiery-red robes. “Si...” “She can take on a human form!?” “What kind of chance did this Artifact Spirit encounter!” “Good good, her body is almost completely corporeal, this has gone far beyond the range of a mere Artifact Spirit. I wonder just what it would feel like to touch her?” When the many cultivators saw Liu Yan show her human form, they couldn’t sit still and started shouting and clamouring over one another. Liu Yan, who stood on the stage, had an extremely cold look on her face, her expression saying she would not let anyone approach within a thousand kilometres of her, but this coldness only added to her beauty, and many male cultivators began howling like wolves under the gaze of her phoenix eyes. What’s more, all of Liu Yan’s beautiful curves were particularly emphasized now that she was bound by the chain-like seals, causing obscene thoughts to surface in many men’s hearts. Yang Kai face-palmed and heaved a heavy sigh. Kang Si Ran, who happened to be taking a sip of tea just now, couldn’t help spitting it out awkwardly before he hurriedly wiped his mouth and turned an odd look to Yang Kai, “Brother Yang... this old master now understands what you meant when you said she was your ‘friend’.” “Brother Kang, it’s not what you think...” Yang Kai tried to defend himself, helplessly. “We are both men, I understand,” Kang Si Ran grinned meaningfully. Yang Kai just rolled his eyes and closed his mouth as any argument he made was useless. “Everyone, as you’ve seen, this Artifact Spirit is not only a very powerful companion, but even just walking next to her will bring you great prestige and face. To be honest, the first time this old master saw her beauty, he was quite tempted to keep her for himself. Unfortunately, this old master is already too old for such things. If that were not the case, I would be competing with you as well,” Drunkard laughed, “Good, enough nonsense. A Fire Attribute Artifact Spirit, the starting bid is 1 million Source Crystals and each raise cannot be less than 50,000. Everyone, please begin!” The starting bid of Liu Yan was the same as that of the Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Alchemy Furnace, causing Yang Kai to frown as he was struck with a bad premonition. Sure enough, just as Drunkard finished speaking, everyone started to call their bids one after another. Just ten breaths later, the bids had broken through the 2 million mark. “3 million!” Suddenly, a clear voice came from a private room in A Block, dumbfounding everyone and forcing the cultivators who were just about to increase their own bid to fall silent. A direct increase of 1 million had happened once before, and from this same person no less. “It’s that Senior!” Someone couldn’t help but cry out loud when he recognized that the voice belonged to the Dao Source Realm master who had won the Black Jade Furnace. “Wow, this Senior is really rich, he just bought the Black Jade Furnace for 6 million and now he’s bidding for this Artifact Spirit again.” “What do you know? If he can obtain both, they will complement each other perfectly! By integrating this Artifact Spirit into the Black Jade Furnace, he might be able to raise it to a Dao Source Grade High-Rank artifact. It might even be able to touch the level of an Emperor Artifact.” “So that’s how it is! It seems this Senior is determined to win this Fire Attribute Artifact Spirit.” “Heh heh, then let’s see how good this Senior’s financial resources are; after all, there are many people interested in this Artifact Spirit.” When he heard the voice calling 3 million, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a headache coming on. He naturally knew who the owner of the voice was and why the other party was interested in Liu Yan. Naturally, it was all because this man had just won the Black Jade Furnace. It was just as the cultivators in the hall were discussing, this man probably wanted to integrate Liu Yan into that Alchemy Furnace to improve its grade. The other party was clearly quite wealthy, and was also very powerful, so as soon as he called his bid, many people who were preparing to call their own bid shut their mouths, causing the auction hall to sink into dead silence for a moment, with no one seemingly willing to compete. Yang Kai was left with no choice but to make a move seeing this and loudly shouted, “4 million!” It was only Liu Yan, he couldn’t give up! Even if meant going bankrupt, he would not hesitate for an instant. Just as Yang Kai’s voice echoed through the hall, the cold expression on Liu Yan’s face, which had remained like ice the entire time, couldn’t help shivering slightly and whether consciously or unconsciously, she glanced towards room B9 before turning her gaze away, the corners of her lips curling upwards ever so slightly. She knew in her heart that Yang Kai would not let her fall into somebody else’s hands. “Apparently there’s another fierce expert here.” “Haha, things have become interesting now, I wonder who will be the final winner.” “It will depend on who has more Source Crystals.” Yang Kai raised the bid from 3 million to 4 million in one breath, matching the previous up-bid of 1 million Source Crystals. This way, his momentum wouldn’t be inferior to the other party. In the A Block private room, a lean man who looked like he was in his forties with a slightly rugged physique couldn’t help frowning for a moment, releasing his Divine Sense towards B9. Although there were barriers around these private rooms to isolate the general Divine Sense investigation, as these had only been set up recently, they weren’t that powerful, and the lean man’s Divine Sense instantly broke through them to press down on Yang Kai and Kang Si Ran. Kang Si Ran immediately let out a grunt, his face turning pale as he felt like he was being suffocated. Yang Kai felt the same, but as soon as he circulated his Spiritual Energy, he recovered unharmed. [A Second-Order Dao Source Realm!] Yang Kai’s heart sank, clearly inferring the other party’s strength from the intensity of his Divine Sense. “Brother Han!” As the host of the auction, Drunkard naturally could not let a powerful master suppress other competitors using force or status, so he immediately shouted, “Please stop!” He directly called out the surname of the lean man, clearly indicating he knew his identity from the start. Upon hearing this, the lean man surnamed Han let out a sneer and said, “This Han meant no harm, he just wanted to take a look at his competition. Vice City Lord doesn’t need to pay it any mind.” 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶 Drunkard furrowed his brow and said in a calm manner, “If that is the case, that would be best. Brother Han is an honoured guest, so you know the rules of the auction.” “You don’t need to remind me,” The man surnamed Han let out a cold snort, clearly quite unhappy. Drunkard nodded solemnly before speaking, “Then, let us continue with the auction. The friend in room B9 has bid 4 million, will Brother Han raise his bid?” After Drunkard finished speaking, before the man surnamed Han could even make a sound, a loud laugh suddenly reverberated from another A Block private room. “This Young Lord bids 4.5 million!” This laughter was filled with arrogance and his tone gave off an aloof, disdainful impression, causing anyone who heard it to instinctually feel disgusted. Even Drunkard up on the stage furrowed his brow upon hearing this voice. The man surnamed Han’s face turned even grimmer as the Divine Sense he had just withdrawn swept towards this new competitor.