The auction hall wasn't large, only a few hundred zhang in diameter, but it was lavishly decorated inside.
There were sixteen stone pillars surrounding the entire hall, connected to the walls. Each wall was covered with flowing patterns, reflecting a picture.
The auction stage is right in front, and you can view the treasures from different angles through the images on these walls.
After all, you can't directly probe with your soul here; it's no different from clairvoyance. Not to mention women—even men, being scanned by someone's soul is a huge insult.
Although most strong cultivators carry treasures to shield others from prying eyes or their own soul power to shield them from viewing, soul scanning is a widely recognized provocation in the cultivation world. Without deep hatred, no one would do such a thing; it's a taboo.
To ensure everyone can see clearly, multi-angle observations of the surrounding walls become very necessary.
Inside the hall, there were hundreds of seats, each a solid wood bench covered with precious animal hides. In front of the bench was a tea table filled with fresh fruit.
Next to each seat stood a beautiful maid with her hands hanging down. They were all very young, looking to be sixteen or seventeen, well-behaved and lovely.
"Young Master Long Chen, your seat is here."
Long Chen was led by disciples of the Dongfang family to a seat. He glanced at it and was very satisfied. This seat was at the very back, a great spot.
Sitting at the front, just thinking about so many people watching from behind made me feel uncomfortable. This place was the best.
"Young Master Long Chen, I'm truly sorry, because you never said you wanted to attend the auction. All the other seats have been arranged.
This position was added for you at the last minute, so I apologize for the inconvenience. The female disciple said apologetically.
"No, no, no, this place is excellent—hidden and safe. You can observe from the sidelines, face south and have north to your back, with excellent feng shui. On the left is a beauty, on the right is fruit tea—it's as good as it gets." Long Chen said with a smile.
He knew that the female disciple was afraid that sitting in the last row would upset him, but in reality, Long Chen never cared about that.
Hearing Long Chen's humorous words, the female disciple couldn't help but laugh at him. Even the maid standing nearby covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Trying to seduce the young girl again, Long Chen, didn't you say your family had a fierce wife? You keep messing around like this, and you still haven't been beaten to death. Long
Chen was joking when suddenly a man walked into the hall—it was Beitang Rushuang, whose figure was breathtakingly stunning.
At this moment, Beitang Rushuang watched Long Chen walk slowly over, her face full of disdain. The last time Long Chen left alone, she was very annoyed.
As soon as Beitang Rushuang arrived, the female disciple of the Eastern family and the maid were startled. They didn't understand why Beitang Rushuang spoke so harshly and couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.
You have to know, the prodigies who come here are all supreme beings of their lives. Many have strange and fierce tempers, and they absolutely dare not be careless.
"Don't be afraid. I'm not targeting you. You need to be careful with this guy—he's not a good person." Beitang Rushuang said to the female disciple and maid.
Long Chen was speechless. He sat down in his seat, casually picked up a fruit, took a bite, and said, "
Hey, beautiful lady of the northern hall, I haven't offended you, have I? Why would you ruin my reputation?"
"Ruin your reputation? How funny, you still have a reputation? More than half of the people on the entire Tianwu Continent are your enemies. What reputation do you want? Beitang Rushuang also sat down, right next to Long Chen.
The chair was large, curved, and could seat five or six people without issue. Beitang Rushuang sat down, and the maid hurriedly poured her some tea.
Beitang Rushuang signaled not to drink tea and pointed to a bunch of crystal grapes. The maid quickly reached out and took out a silver plate for her, placed a bunch of grapes on top, and respectfully handed it to her with both hands.
Long Chen looked at the fruit in his hand, then at the elegant Beitang Rushuang eating, and couldn't help but laugh: Damn, are you deliberately showing off your taste?
Hang out with me? Alright, I'll keep you company. Suddenly, Long Chen's gaze softened, and he stared straight at Beitang Rushuang, especially her lustrous, moist cherry lips—like mosquitoes after autumn, piercing into flesh.
Beitang Rushuang ate three grapes and immediately felt something was off. This guy's gaze was so intense that she felt her hair stand on end.
She knew Long Chen was doing it on purpose; if she didn't eat it, it would be like she lost. Beitang Rushuang pretended to eat two pills as if nothing had happened, then suddenly became furious.
Because Long Chen was not only watching her while eating the fruit, but also stuck out his tongue, rubbing it back and forth on the fruit, making Beitang Rushuang's skin crawl.
"Long Chen, you bastard, what are you doing?" Beitang Rushuang snapped angrily. The female disciple of the Eastern family had apologized and left as soon as Beitang Rushuang sat down, but the young maid was blushing with anger. Long Chen's teasing was obvious.
"Me?" Am I learning from you? Long Chen was taken aback and said with a look of grievance.
"Nonsense! I'm not as disgusted as you eat!" Beitang Rushuang glared and said.
"I saw how refined your eating was, and I remembered that my hometown also has its own refined way of eating.
She would use her tongue to wash the fruit clean and feed it to the one she liked, and she would fall in love with him wholeheartedly..." Long Chen said very seriously.
"Don't say it, it's so disgusting."
Beitang Rushuang shivered. Even though she was a peerless prodigy, she had never encountered a weirdo like Long Chen before, and was instantly captured.
You little rascal, play with me? When it comes to shamelessness, I only admire Mo Nian; no one else fears me. Long Chen chuckled and finally began to eat the fruit properly.
While the two were talking, someone entered the hall. It was a man with an indifferent face, his brows brimming with undisguised pride, his eyes filled with coldness.
The man entered the hall, glanced back, and immediately spotted Beitang Rushuang. His eyes clearly showed a hint of amazement. When he saw Long Chen beside Beitang Rushuang, he glanced at it briefly and then sat down in his seat.
His seat was in the center. After sitting down, a maid immediately stepped forward to pour tea, but the man waved his hand, then sat there with his eyes closed, resting silently.
"Young Master Long Chen, Fairy Rushuang, are you going to open the formation?" The maid asked.
Each seat here had its own independent formation, blocking visitors from visiting, but inside you could see outside.
"No need, or it would cause misunderstandings. I have a fierce wife at home; I have to be careful." Long Chen said with a smile.
Nangong Rushuang glared at Long Chen and said to the maid, "Just open the soundproof barrier." The
soundproof barrier was activated, and while they were speaking here, they couldn't hear outside, but they could see what was happening inside.
The soundproof barrier was opened, and a thin light shield instantly enveloped the area. Then the thin barrier rapidly faded, until it was almost invisible.
As soon as the light shield fell, Beitang Rushuang's expression turned serious. Just as she was about to speak, Long Chen suddenly stood up and waved ahead.
Following Long Chen's gaze, Beitang Rushuang saw Nangong Zuiyue's graceful figure, but she said nothing.
Nangong Zuiyue also saw Long Chen and Beitang Rushuang. Seeing Long Chen waving at her repeatedly, Nangong Zuiyue hesitated for a moment but eventually walked over.
"Why did you call her over?" Beitang Rushuang said softly.
"You two are my creditors, why can't you call her over? Besides, the hatred between your two families is a legacy of history. The Nangong family is the Nangong family, and Nangong Zuiyue is Nangong Zuiyue. Why mix them up? Long Chen said with a smile.
"There are some things you don't understand." Beitang Rushuang shook her head and said.
"There may be things in this world that I, Long Chen, don't understand, but your matter is not among them.
Actually, you can see Nangong Zuiyue's attitude—she's always yielding to you, which is itself a form of apology and compensation.
Honestly, if I were Nangong Zuiyue, I wouldn't care about you. You're impressive—why challenge the entire Nangong family and go against me?
Does making one person make a mistake mean the whole clan is bad? If a villain emerges on our Tianwu Continent, does that mean we all should be killed?
Besides, your Beitang family was historically all good people? Did those in power never do anything wrong? Long Chen retorted.
Beitang Rushuang glared at Long Chen with wide eyes, but she couldn't refute it. Still, she couldn't change her mind, unable to hide the hatred she felt for the Nangong family.
"Your hatred should be directed at the Nangong family. If Nangong Zuiyue sides with them, you can fight them with peace of mind, because this is fate.
But if you do it backwards, you want to use Nangong Zuiyue as a breakthrough point, constantly forcing her to fight you. You want to defeat her and undermine the Nangong family.
Then let me ask you, do you really have a valid reason? After fighting her, can you really be free of worries and feel no shame?
If you can do that, it means you're a heartless person—you've already done everything possible against her.
If you can't do it, to be honest, I really don't believe in your fight with her. If you can't maintain a pure mindset, it's too hard to defeat her.
So, sometimes, whether it's covering one's ears or farting while taking off your pants, certain steps still need to be followed.
For example, I clearly know some people want to kill me and they are hostile toward me, but I never eliminate the threat in advance. I wait for them to make a move before I act.
If I had acted first, I might have killed innocent people, but if they acted first, I could strike ruthlessly without any attachments. Although I suffered some losses, I was always able to act with a clear conscience.
Nangong Zuiyue has always refused to fight you, and the reason is not as simple as it seems. Alright, that's enough—she's here. Long
Chen suddenly closed his mouth. At that moment, Nangong Zuiyue happened to walk over, the formation trembled slightly, and Nangong Zuiyue entered the protective shield.
Nangong Zuiyue entered, and Beitang Rushuang suddenly stood up.