Xia Wei quickly realized just how absurdly profitable this "investment" had become.
Whether or not there would be any future cooperation no longer mattered—this single exchange alone was already an enormous gain.
Not only had Lin Ye given her five Earth Spirit Pills…
He had even returned the Five Tigers Cloud-Suppressing Cauldron.
That was a cauldron worth over seven million spirit stones.
Even if sold at a low price, it could still fetch at least five million.
Yet Lin Ye handed it back as if it were nothing.
To him, that amount of spirit stones simply didn't matter.
"Oh right," Lin Ye said casually. "Do you have any Ten-Thousand Beast Blood Figurines here? I want all of them."
This was actually one of his main reasons for visiting the auction house.
These sinister objects were hard to sell—few dared to even touch them.
But an auction house had to handle everything under the sun.
Only by offering the rare, taboo, and strange could they attract more customers and do bigger business.
"Yes," Xia Wei replied immediately. "Elder Xia Wanshan already told me. I'll have them prepared for you right away."
In truth, the Ten-Thousand Beast Blood Figurines weren't particularly useful.
Most people treated them as decorative objects placed in large manors.
Xia Wei simply ordered the three figurines currently stored in the auction house to be given to Lin Ye directly.
Then she continued:
"And also… the seller you asked about last time refuses to sell more."
"But… he is interested in inviting you to go to that ancient tomb with him."
Lin Ye raised an eyebrow.
He hadn't expected that.
If the seller was making such a move, it meant one thing:
There were even better items inside that tomb.
But the seller couldn't obtain them alone.
The place was too dangerous, and he couldn't find someone strong enough to enter with him.
"I'm interested," Lin Ye said calmly. "Tell him to set the time and location. Then come find me again."
"I'll be leaving now."
He stood up, wasting not even a moment.
Xia Wei hadn't expected him to leave so quickly—sharp, decisive, and mercilessly efficient.
Even with her beauty and presence sitting there, Lin Ye didn't linger for the duration of a single cup of tea.
It bruised her pride more than she liked to admit.
Still, she did not stop him—she stood and escorted him out instead.
"Oh, and Lin Ye," Xia Wei added, lowering her voice. "Be careful of Murong Xuan'ang. The Murong Clan is the number one family of Golden Dragon City. They rule the city."
"And his father is the strongest expert there—an Heavenly Phenomenon Realm cultivator."
"Got it," Lin Ye replied without even turning his head.
His tone carried no surprise, no fear—nothing at all.
Watching him leave, Xia Wei's curiosity deepened.
What kind of person was Lin Ye?
Like his father Lin Zhonghai, he felt like a mystery wrapped in steel.
Xia Wanshan had told her about the Ten-Thousand Beast Blood Figurines…
But he had not told her what Lin Ye had done to the West Mountain Division.
That kind of information could not be leaked easily.
If it spread, the Wind-Thunder Sect might hold them accountable.
If Xia Wei ever learned that Lin Ye had fought more than thirty Earth Transformation experts alone, killed over twenty, and walked away uninjured—
Her expression would have been completely different.
Lin Ye sensed someone following him.
Most likely sect personnel from the branch hall, assigned to monitor him.
He didn't care.
He returned to his courtyard.
Then he brought out the three Ten-Thousand Beast Blood Figurines.
"These three carry even stronger blood-fiend aura."
"If I classify their aura like pills into nine tiers…"
"Two of them are Tier Two."
"And the last one… is Tier Three."
The one Lin Ye had found with Xia Wanshan's caravan had only been Tier One.
But the Tier Three figurine was different.
Even a single glance at it could drag the mind into an endless slaughter domain.
If one's will was weak, it could easily lead to qi deviation and madness.
To ordinary cultivators, it was a curse.
To Lin Ye…
It was a sharpening stone for killing intent.
It could strengthen his battle arts.
And it could dramatically increase the power of his killing techniques.
Lin Ye tossed one Tier Two figurine into the Blood Sea.
Instantly, a wave of power far stronger than the Tier One figurine surged into his body—
This was the Blood Sea's "reward."
Boom!
His cultivation, originally at Earth Transformation Second Realm, began climbing wildly.
Like a dried riverbed suddenly flooded by roaring waves, the force shoved him forward at terrifying speed.
Boom!
Earth Transformation Third Realm!
His qi sea expanded again.
Endless energy poured into his body, saturating every vein and bone.
Lin Ye's eyes gleamed.
"This really is the correct way to use the Asura Blood Sea!"
He stabilized his breathing—then didn't stop.
He tossed in the second Tier Two figurine.
The Blood Sea churned again.
Power poured into him in relentless torrents.
The Nine Revolutions Asura Art devoured it all.
His cultivation surged forward, slamming into the peak of the third realm.
He was already standing at the threshold of a breakthrough.
"Again!"
Lin Ye did not hesitate.
He immediately threw in the Tier Three figurine.
In that instant, it was as if the Blood Sea itself let out a violent roar.
Blood waves rose like a starving beast charging forward.
The Nine Revolutions Asura Art spun crazily, absorbing the force like a vortex.
BOOM!
Earth Transformation Fourth Realm!
The surge continued—
BOOM!
Earth Transformation Fifth Realm!
Lin Ye felt a profound warmth and comfort spreading through his body.
Finally, the momentum slowed, stabilizing at—
Earth Transformation Fifth Realm, Mid Stage.
Only then did everything calm.
"If those people come after me again…"
"I can slaughter them all. Not one will escape."
Lin Ye's strength was now several times greater than before.
Back when he was only at Qi Sea Ninth Realm, he could already kill a fifth-realm Earth Transformation expert like Xu Liang.
Now he was already at Earth Transformation Fifth Realm himself.
If he fought Xu Liang again, he wouldn't even need to activate the Blood Curse.
Then he noticed something else.
Another reef had risen from the Blood Sea—like the one that had revealed the Blood Curse technique.
But this time, it wasn't a secret art.
It was a powerful amplification battle technique.
Lin Ye's eyes lit up.
"Eight Desolations Blood-Slaughter Force!"
He quickly read the engraving and memorized it.
And he realized something astonishing:
His divine sense could grasp these inscriptions extremely fast.
This technique was a form of internal force.
It could be layered onto any attack.
Once it erupted, it could amplify the technique's power by ten times.
"If I combine Blood Slaughter Nine Strikes with Eight Desolations Blood-Slaughter Force…"
"I wonder what kind of destructive power it will reach."
Lin Ye's anticipation surged.
His cultivation had reached Earth Transformation Fifth Realm Mid Stage—
And he had obtained yet another powerful method.
The harvest was immense.
Just as Lin Ye was about to continue cultivating, a knock came from outside.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Lin Ye… it's me. Uncle Wen."
The voice was familiar.
"Wen Lang?"
Memories surfaced in Lin Ye's mind.
He didn't remember much.
Only that Wen Lang had been on good terms with Lin Zhonghai.
And Lin Ye's ability to keep his Core Disciple status for so long…
Had been largely because Wen Lang had protected him behind the scenes.
"Come in," Lin Ye said.