The auction concluded in a state of buzzing, incredulous energy. The final few items were sold but the minds of everyone present were still fixed on the monumental ruinous bid made by Jin Ao. It was the talk of the entire city. Someone had bid a staggering price of Two hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones for The Heart of the Deep Sea.
In the private room of the Green Mountain Sect the atmosphere was one of suppressed triumphant laughter.
"Two hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones" Hu Jian whispered, his voice choked with a mixture of awe and glee. "He paid Two hundred and fifty thousand for a pearl we already have. I think I'm going to cry."
"He has single-handedly spent a significant portion of his faction's yearly budget on a single item. He is a genius at cultivation but it would seem he isn't so bright when it comes to money" Brother Kai said, a slow satisfied smile on his face. "You have dealt Elder Jin's faction a blow far more damaging than any physical defeat."
"We should leave now," Lin Tao advised, his gaze sharp and focused. "Jin Ao will have to go to the back rooms to pay for and collect his 'prize.' That will take time. It is the perfect opportunity for us to slip away unnoticed."
"Lin Tao is right," Li Yu agreed, standing up. "Our business in this city is concluded. The longer we stay, the greater the risk."
They left their room and made their way out of the auction house melting into the vast, anonymous river of cultivators. They moved with a quiet, deliberate purpose, their faces impassive, betraying none of the triumphant glee they felt. They were four unassuming disciples, just a few more faces in the massive crowd. They weren't afraid anyone would follow them, they didn't bid or win any of the items today.
As they passed through the grand entrance hall they saw a group of Golden Sea Guild members speaking with Elder Quan. The old elder's eyes met Li Yu's for a fraction of a second across the crowded hall. He gave a single, almost imperceptible nod, a silent acknowledgment of a perfectly executed plan. Li Yu returned the gesture, a silent confirmation of their new, mutually beneficial alliance.
They returned to the inn and without a moment's delay, they packed their few belongings, settled their bill and made their way to the Beast Taming Guild's stables. Their Sky-Swimmer Turtle, which had been resting peacefully greeted them with a low rumbling sound of contentment.
"Do we have to leave so soon?" Hu Jian asked as they boarded the massive beast. "I was hoping to try some of the city's famous Sea-Dragon wine."
"We can celebrate when we are safely back within the sect's borders," Li Yu said, his gaze fixed on the setting sun. "Right now, we are a group of disciples carrying a treasure."
With a quiet command from Brother Kai, the Sky-Swimmer Turtle began its slow ponderous ascent, rising above the magnificent glittering city and turning its head towards the distant green mountains of their home.
Meanwhile, in the back rooms of the auction house, the atmosphere was far less triumphant. Jin Ao stood before the auction house's finance elder, his face a mask of cold fury. Before him lay the Heart of the Deep Sea, shimmering on its velvet cushion. Beside it was a mountain of spirit stones and a stack of valuable spiritual artifacts and beast cores from his storage ring.
"Two hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones, paid in full," the finance elder said, his voice polite but firm.
Jin Ao did not reply. He swept the pearl into his storage ring and stormed out, his followers scrambling to keep up. His victory felt hollow, the taste of it like ash in his mouth. All of this sinking in after the auction was over, he had gotten too carried away. His confidence and pride that propelled him as a cultivator stung him deeply now.
He had spent a fortune, a sum that would require a very, very difficult explanation to his master.
"Senior Brother," one of his followers began, his voice hesitant, "that was… a vast sum. Was it truly worth it?"
"Of course, it was worth it!" Jin Ao snarled, his eyes blazing with a furious light though even he didn't truly believe that now. He could only hope that the boost in power that this would give him would be enough to justify the cost.
But even as he spoke the words, a small seed of doubt had begun to sprout in his heart.
The journey back was the opposite of their arrival. Li Yu's small group traveled in a state of calm, vigilant silence. Jin Ao's faction, having departed a few hours after them, was a storm of frustration and anger.
On the third day of their journey, as they flew over a vast, empty expanse of rolling hills, Hu Jian, who was on watch, suddenly tensed. "Junior Steward, their ship is approaching. Fast."
Li Yu looked back. Jin Ao's large ostentatious flying ship was closing the distance between them at an alarming rate. It was clear they were not simply on the same path by coincidence.
"They wouldn't dare attack us in the open," Lin Tao said, his hand on his sword. "We are still within the territory of the major sects."
"They don't need to attack us directly," Li Yu said, his mind racing. "They just need to create an 'accident'."
The larger ship pulled alongside their slow-moving turtle. Jin Ao stood on the deck, his expression one of cold predatory amusement.
"Well, well, Junior Brother Li," he called out, his voice dripping with condescending pity. "Fleeing back to your master with your tail between your legs? I must admit, I was disappointed. I had hoped for more of a fight to get this treasure. But I suppose a fish can only struggle for so long before it is crushed."
"We congratulate Senior Brother on his successful purchase," Brother Kai called back, his voice polite and steady. "It was a display of wealth that has surely earned your faction great prestige."
"Of course, it has," Jin Ao sneered. He then looked at their Sky-Swimmer Turtle with a look of disgust. "That is a truly pathetic beast. So slow, so clumsy. It is an embarrassment to our sect. A beast like that is prone to… accidents."
As he spoke, one of his followers, a disciple with a cruel smile, discreetly released a small, almost invisible spiritual needle from his sleeve. It shot through the air, aimed not at the disciples but at the soft fleshy part of the turtle's neck. It was a Soul-Agitating Needle, a vicious tool designed to enrage a demonic beast, to drive it into a frenzy of pain and madness.
But Li Yu had been watching out for something like this. The moment the disciple moved, his own spiritual sense had detected the faint fluctuation of Qi.
He acted instantly. His fingers, infused with a deep, heavy current of True Qi from his «Tidal Aegis Art», closed around the needle a mere inch from the turtle's neck. There was no sound or no impact. The needle simply vanished into his grasp. He felt the vicious chaotic energy within it, a spiritual poison designed to drive a creature insane and his Qi effortlessly suppressed it.
He straightened up, his hand closing into a fist. His expression is one of wide-eyed innocent confusion. "What was that? Did a bug just fly past?"
Jin Ao and his followers stared, their smiles frozen on their faces. The disciple who threw the needle was looking at his empty sleeve, his face a mask of pure disbelief.
Jin Ao's face turned dark. He was about to launch himself across the gap, to tear Li Yu apart with his bare hands, consequences be damned. He was angry with himself for buying such a sum for the heart, he wanted to unleash it against this brat that was causing trouble in his master's plans.
But before he could move, a new, terrifying pressure descended. A small, black-robed figure appeared from a nearby cloud, standing silently in the air between the two vessels. It was an elder from the sect's Disciplinary Hall, one of the silent enforcers who patrolled the sect's borders.
"That is enough, Jin Ao," the elder's voice was a cold, emotionless rasp.
Jin Ao froze, he was just ready to unleash his pent up frustration and now an elder was here to stop him. He glared at Li Yu with a look of murderous hatred in his eyes. He was more angry with himself and even he himself realized that. However, that rage had to be directed somewhere and it was aimed at the boy over there.
He turned without another word and stormed back into his ship's cabin. The massive vessel turned and sped away, a silent, furious retreat.
Li Yu calmly opened his hand, looking at the small, vicious-looking needle resting in his palm. He had a new, interesting toy to study.
"Thank you Elder! If you hadn't shown up when you did, who knows what might have happened." Li Yu spoke with a bow. The elder nodded back to him and disappeared from sight.
"Let's go home," he said, his voice quiet.