Chapter 151

Chapter 151: The 91st Cauldron, Ye Fan!

***

“Next up is the 91st cauldron, Ye Fan!”

A heavy iron cage was slowly pushed onto the high platform of the Hehuan Sect auction by two cultivators.

Ye Fan inside the cage was forced to wear a thin veil dress in pink and white, with thick and bizarrely garish makeup applied to his face.

His entire being appeared out of place in the shadows of the iron cage, like a plaything for others to observe, nakedly displayed before the hall full of cultivators.

The host stood to one side of the platform, cleared his throat, and introduced him to the crowd below:

“Ye Fan was originally a prodigy disciple of the Qinglan Sect. A few months ago, he accidentally lost the vital essence within his body. Since then, yin energy has been growing increasingly dense throughout his body. He is now a rare yin-attribute cauldron. Starting bid is 1 high-grade spirit stone!”

As soon as the words fell, the auction hall instantly erupted in an uproar.

They lowered their voices, whispering with their companions.

Their surprise stemmed not only from the starting bid of 1 high-grade spirit stone — after all, ordinary cauldrons usually started at mid-grade spirit stones.

But more so from Ye Fan’s identity.

“He’s actually a prodigy from Qinglan Sect?”

A cultivator with a goatee couldn’t help but raise his voice.

“Have you all gone mad? Aren’t you afraid Qinglan Sect will come knocking? Everyone knows Qinglan Sect is famous for protecting their own.”

The host seemed to have anticipated everyone’s reaction and spoke up at just the right time, his voice spreading throughout the venue through spiritual power:

“Fellow Daoists can rest assured. This person was expelled from Qinglan Sect for killing his fellow disciples. He now has no connection whatsoever with Qinglan Sect.”

“Moreover, the yin energy in his body is extremely similar to a natural pure yin physique, and has excellent effects for cultivation.”

After the host finished speaking, a burly man quickly stepped forward.

His rough large hand directly gripped Ye Fan’s chin, forcibly lifting his head so the crowd below could clearly see his face.

Although Ye Fan had been tortured for many days, his face pale and haggard with dark circles under his eyes impossible to hide, he had been born with handsome features.

Add to that the fact that the seller had forcibly fed him several low-grade restorative pills to raise the price, slightly restoring his complexion.

Combined with the bizarre makeup on his face, he somehow gave off a fragile yet alluring aura, causing quite a few male cultivators below to instantly show eager expressions.

“Damn, this cauldron is not bad!”

A shifty-eyed cultivator rubbed his hands together, his gaze fixed on Ye Fan, a greedy smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

“But he’s male, you want him too?”

A relatively normal-looking cultivator beside him frowned, his tone carrying some confusion.

“So what if he’s male?”

The shifty-eyed cultivator glanced at him sideways, squinting as he looked over Ye Fan on the platform, saying with a lascivious smile:

“Look at that face. Even though he’s lost his former prodigy spirit, it may not be as delicate as female cultivators, but it has its own unique flavor.”

“And look at those eyes, clearly fallen to this state, yet still carrying a stubborn streak. How interesting.”

“Not to mention he’s a former prodigy of Qinglan Sect, and the yin energy in his body is pure. This kind of special cauldron isn’t something you encounter just any time. How fresh!”

“Now that you mention it, he does look kind of interesting.”

Another previously silent cultivator also nodded, his eyes gaining some approval, clearly having his interest piqued by the shifty-eyed cultivator’s words.

Ye Fan on the platform turned a deaf ear to all this. He had long since lost his former arrogance.

Ever since losing the nourishment of vital essence, losing his yang energy, with yin energy gradually taking dominance in his body, his entire being had become increasingly feminine, and his voice had become hoarse, unpleasant like a duck’s quack.

He coldly watched everyone below, his gaze sharp as a viper, not saying a word.

Only his tightly clenched fists and slightly trembling body revealed the unwillingness and rage in his heart.

The long-term torture hadn’t smoothed his edges; instead, it made the resentment in his heart grow wildly.

Just then, Ye Fan’s gaze suddenly paused, catching sight of a familiar figure in a corner of the crowd.

At this moment, Peach Fairy was also squinting as she examined him.

Ever since being severely injured by Su Wanqing last time, she had been hiding in the shadows, surviving by capturing civilian women to absorb their yin energy for healing. Occasionally catching one or two female cultivators at the Qi Refining stage had considerably sped up her recovery. Her complexion had improved quite a bit now.

“So this is what he’s become?”

Peach Fairy looked at Ye Fan on the platform, now like a plaything, and a cold smile curved at the corner of her mouth, without the slightest sympathy in her eyes.

She had no fondness for this former partner.

If Ye Fan hadn’t instigated her to deal with Su Wanqing back then, she wouldn’t have ended up severely injured.

Now the two of them were meeting again in such a manner, Peach Fairy couldn’t help but ponder inwardly.

It seemed that Su Wanqing was indeed not so simple.

“Peach Fairy?”

Ye Fan also recognized her, a flash of vicious light instantly crossing his eyes.

In his view, if Peach Fairy hadn’t been incompetent and failed to capture Su Wanqing, he wouldn’t have gotten deeply involved with that vicious woman Ji Jiaying and fallen to this state.

But Ye Fan quickly suppressed the hatred in his heart. He hadn’t completely given up hope.

Heaven ultimately favored him. Although he had lost his vital essence and his cultivation had greatly fallen, not only had his cultivation not been completely ruined, there were even faint signs of breaking through to the Golden Core stage.

As long as he could survive, he would reclaim all the humiliation suffered today, one by one.

Before taking revenge on all his enemies, he, Ye Fan, would absolutely not fall!

In a dark corner of the auction hall, a person wrapped entirely in black clothing was watching Ye Fan on the platform. A wide brim concealed his face, revealing only a pair of deep eyes.

He looked at the resentment practically overflowing from Ye Fan’s body, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved into a sinister smile:

“Such intense resentment, such tenacious obsession, truly perfect as a vessel for the Seed of Demonic Corruption. Hahahaha…”

……

At the same time, deep within a dense primeval forest, Lin Muyu was carefully moving through the trees, Crystal Sword in hand.

She had come here to eliminate demons infected by demonic energy and earn sect contribution points.

Having broken through to Foundation Establishment stage, she naturally wouldn’t pass up such a good opportunity to both train and earn points.

Although some days ago the sect had specially rewarded her with 1,000 points for promptly reporting the demonic energy incident.

But points were something you could never have too many of, who would complain about having more?

Just as Lin Muyu was searching for traces of demon beasts, a dense wave of demonic energy suddenly came from not far ahead, instantly putting her on alert.

She peered forward and saw a crude yet eerie altar standing in an open area ahead. On the stone platform at the altar’s center rested a fist-sized pitch-black seed.

The seed was completely black, its surface faintly wreathed in black mist, emitting demonic energy that made one’s heart palpitate.

“Holy crap, what is this thing?”

Lin Muyu looked at that pitch-black seed and was immediately startled, instinctively gripping her Crystal Sword tighter.

She had never seen such an eerie seed, nor had she ever felt such pure demonic energy.

Out of caution, Lin Muyu immediately mobilized the spiritual power in her body and activated Insight.

【???】

【Property: ?? (presumed to be source of demonic energy)】

【Information: ???】

Seeing information full of question marks, Lin Muyu was thoroughly shocked.

Over these past few months, she had made Xiaotao read through thousands of books, from cultivation basics to ancient secrets, covering nearly everything.

Now Xiaotao, even if she couldn’t be called erudite, could at least be considered well-informed and knowledgeable throughout the ages.

Yet this seed before her, even Xiaotao didn’t know about it, showing just how rare it was.

But thinking about it another way, this thing was related to demonic energy, and demonic energy had always been taboo in the cultivation world. Records about it among humans and cultivators were naturally scarce. It made sense that Xiaotao wouldn’t know about it.

With this thought, Lin Muyu’s curiosity was instantly replaced by fear.

This was something that could emit such dense demonic energy, definitely an extremely dangerous existence!

Looking at the eerie altar and pitch-black seed before her, Lin Muyu instinctively turned around, ready to bolt.

This was a source of demonic energy! If she didn’t run, was she supposed to wait around to be corrupted by it?

But just as she showed signs of retreating, the pitch-black seed on the altar suddenly began to tremble.

Immediately after, a strand of pitch-black demonic energy shot out from the seed like a venomous snake, heading straight for Lin Muyu!

Wherever that thick demonic energy passed, the air itself seemed to corrode, emitting a pungent stench. Lin Muyu felt a stinging pain where the demonic energy grazed her skin.

“Xiaotao, save me!”