Twelve years ago, Rihai and her father were attending an auction that, unbeknownst to them, would shape their entire fate from that moment on.
The item they sought was a necklace with finely crafted links made of a material resembling gold, but depending on how the light hit it, it revealed a faint greenish hue. It had a green stone set in its pendant, making it a beautiful yet slightly discreet piece.
But that necklace, which emitted no spiritual fluctuations and could easily be mistaken for a common item, was being displayed before everyone at that time, admired with greedy eyes. The final item of the auction presented by the Golden Heaven Pavilion was, without a doubt, the most valuable item of the day.
As they drooled in desire and kept serious expressions, ready to fight for the possible valuable artifact before them, their gazes slowly grew frenzied as they listened to the auctioneer narrating the necklace's origin.
"The final item of today's auction is of extraordinary origin. Its use, Tier, or even the material it is made of are still unknown. Appraisers judge that it may be a Mahayana-Tier item, while others speculate it may be of an even higher origin."
As the words of the auctioneer—who had good looks and a calm, confident smile—fell, along with the powerful fluctuations of a Void Refiner emanating from his body, many people could not contain themselves. They immediately jumped to their feet in shock, with reddened eyes that did not leave the item.
Unfortunately, his next words plunged the venue into sepulchral silence, making the flame that had just ignited in the crowd's hearts… freeze.
"Until now, no one knows what the necklace does. No one has been able to make it recognize a master through blood. People who put it around their neck have their entire spiritual energy directly sucked away, becoming basically crippled. The only way to remove it is by removing the user's head. Even an early-stage Tribulation Transcendence cultivator who tested it could not take it off and was unfortunately killed afterward."
The man explained with a smile, but what he said made everyone draw sharp breaths, horror painting their faces. Some even leaned back, as if wanting to get away from that devilish thing.
Only the auctioneer was smiling in the enormous auction house, watching the crowd of thousands with an apparently carefree and amused look.
"Well, despite the disadvantages, this is still a wonderful and powerful item. It is indestructible even for powerful Tribulation Transcendence cultivators. And its background history is magnificent, being a heritage left behind by the venerable Liu Taixuan after his fall, and directly guarded in the Liu family treasury, until it was recently stolen a few months ago." He continued smiling.
But the more he spoke, the quieter the room became, to the point that even a needle dropping on the floor could have been heard.
No one said anything, no one asked anything, they did not even dare breathe.
The only thing they could do was stare in horror at the auctioneer and at the madness of the Golden Heaven Pavilion behind him. The only conclusion they could reach about such an attitude was: Courting death!
The Liu family had not only once, but twice in a row, a patriarch who held the position of strongest in the world— the second one being the current patriarch, Liu Shun'an, bearer of a Divine Physique, who was even stronger than his grandfather and all the more terrifying for it.
The Liu family itself was not weak either, being one of the oldest lineages in the world, with vast influence, power, and heritage.
With all that combined, daring to rob them and still sell the stolen item was simply the greatest madness in history.
In the VIP box, Liu Shun'an had a gloomy expression as he saw his father's necklace—stolen from his tomb—being brazenly sold. That was simply trampling on the reputation of his family and his grandfather, which made him furious.
Unconsciously, his killing intent began to spill out, enveloping the entire auction house and making everyone tremble. His aura spared only his daughter beside him, who was absorbed in the book in her hands and completely ignoring the drama around her.
The auctioneer on stage, feeling that killing intent focusing on him, began to sweat profusely and fought to maintain the smile on his face, which slowly faded as his body trembled.
Fortunately for him, that suffocating pressure slowly dissipated, and he fell to his knees on the stage.
"T-Thank you for the mercy… venerable one!" gasping heavily, the man struggled to breathe, but still thanked humbly, horror shining in his eyes.
All the bravado, confidence, and arrogance he had shown earlier were destroyed by a mere killing intent.
He no longer dared delay and stood up shakily.
"T-The final item, number 29, will now be auctioned. The minimum price is 1,000 Transcend-Tier herbs or items of equal value, with no minimum increase. Starting now." He swallowed hard, waiting.
As soon as he finished speaking, a voice echoed.
"One thousand…" a young yet firm and heavy voice resounded.
Everyone trembled upon hearing it, for they felt the speaker was the same person from the VIP box where the earlier killing intent had come from, and the voice did not sound happy at all.
But after his voice fell, the heavy silence continued.
"O-One thousand… going once…" The auctioneer, hearing no further calls, took a deep breath and proceeded.
Scanning the crowd, he saw only horror and silence. Not even children dared whisper in that atmosphere.
"One thousand… going twice…"
Moments passed… and… nothing changed.
"O-One thousand… going three… sold to the venerable one in box 7." The announcement was made, but the oppressive silence persisted.
It was no surprise to anyone. That necklace was a hot potato— who would even dare compete for it was practically signing their own death warrant.
Breathing deeply and steadying himself, the auctioneer, never ceasing to glance fearfully toward box 7, declared:
"This auction is concluded. Please proceed to the back to finalize payment and retrieve your items. To everyone else, thank you for attending and I wish you a safe journey home."
As soon as his words fell, everyone immediately stood and left in order, as quietly as possible. The moment they crossed the hall doors, those who walked civilly suddenly began running desperately, not daring to scream, sweating profusely, going as far away as they could.
In the end, the auction hall was empty, leaving only the auctioneer, Patriarch Liu, and Rihai.
As for those who had also won their bids? Well, they fled with the others, leaving behind everything they had bought without a second thought.
Even though many bitterly lamented for a moment the excellent items they had abandoned, there was nothing they could do. The Liu family was simply far too terrifying, and the Golden Heaven Pavilion had completely provoked them this time.
In box 7, Liu Shun'an, with an expressionless face, took a deep breath and stood up. But when he looked to the side, a trace of helplessness broke through that gloomy expression, for his daughter was completely absorbed in her book, having noticed nothing about the drama that had occurred.
Reaching out, he gently rubbed her beautiful blonde hair and crouched slightly so he could be face-to-face with the girl.
"Huh?" Rihai, who had been staring at the book with bright blue eyes and clenched fists from the tension of the scene described in it, suddenly felt the touch on her head that pulled her back to reality. She lifted her eyes from the book, confused, and came face-to-face with her father, who looked at her helplessly.
"Hai'er, the auction is over, and father has to go retrieve grandpa's necklace," he spoke softly.
Due to his daughter's Divine Physique, he could not allow her to live far from him, for if others discovered that she possessed such a physique, she would be an easy target for kidnapping and exploitation because of the powerful Dao rhymes present in her roots.
His excessive protection wasn't seen as strange by others, since she could also be used as a hostage against him. Besides, no one expected a second Divine Physique to be born while another still existed.
Thus, his daughter was completely protected, and no one had discovered anything about her extraordinary talent, especially because he had ordered her to progress slowly in the beginning of her cultivation.
Under so many layers of protection, he could ensure her safety… but not a good life.
There was a cost to all this safety: stealing his own daughter's freedom. It made him feel guilty, even though it was for her own good. That was why he tried to find activities to distract her, and in one of those attempts, he discovered her growing passion for reading.
And the best alternative for a little girl who longed for freedom and had a head full of ideas was a physical book, where her imagination could run wild and find freedom within the lines, instead of receiving the near-instant transmission of knowledge from jade slips, as cultivators normally used.
She loved it, but at the same time became addicted, and often got distracted or didn't pay attention to things.
"Okay, father. Well…" She nodded upon hearing his voice, but when she looked at the book that was so entertaining, she felt reluctant to put it down. "Err… father, go on ahead. I'm almost done…" she said cutely, blinking her blue eyes pitifully at him.
"You… you little girl." Liu Shun'an laughed helplessly when he noticed she was only halfway through the book yet still had the audacity to say she was almost done. With a resigned smile, he ruffled her hair again and nodded. "Alright, stay here obediently while father goes to retrieve grandpa's necklace." He kissed her forehead, and the girl simply nodded, immediately returning her bright, excited eyes to the book.
Chuckling softly, Liu Shun'an reached into the void, pulled out a formation disk, and placed it on the ground beside his daughter, where it instantly rose into the shape of a shield.
He was no fool and knew there was something wrong with that auction. There was no way he would leave his daughter alone without protection. That formation disk was strong enough to withstand even a perfected Tribulation Transcender for several minutes, which was more than enough time for him to come back quickly if anything happened.
This was his confidence as the strongest in the world. Even against ten ancient monsters, perfected Tribulation Transcenders, he still trusted he could fight them on equal footing or even better. At the very least, rescuing his daughter and escaping would not be a problem at all.
Thus, he departed, leaving his daughter behind, who delighted herself in the book in her hands.
Time passed slowly, and Rihai began to furrow her brows, lifting her head as she closed the book.
"What a rushed, terrible ending. What a waste of a good book," she murmured irritably, puffing her cheeks without noticing.
Putting the book away, she looked around and saw only the room she was in and the empty hall, in a silence and lighting that were unsettling. The only comforting thing there was the yellowish glow of the barrier surrounding her.
"Where is father? Why is he taking so long?" She tilted her head, confused. There was no fear in her eyes, only doubt. To her, her father was invincible, so there was no reason to worry.
But nearly two sticks of incense—about thirty minutes—must have passed since he left, and she had begun to feel bored again.
"Well… let's read that one about the hare and the turtle," she murmured, remembering a tale her father had brought from the mortal world for her.
Thus decided, she prepared to take out another book to pass the time while waiting for her father to return, but at that moment, through her peripheral vision, she saw the silhouette of a person standing beside the barrier.