Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Heavenly Phoenix Bone Sword

As the auction rolled on, the atmosphere grew hotter and hotter. Lin Zhao, who hadn’t cared much about the items at first, felt her heart tug when a Third-Grade pill of Perfect Grade quality appeared.

A pill’s quality was divided into four levels: low-grade, mid-grade, upper-grade, and Perfect Grade.

A Third-Grade pill wasn’t rare to Lin Zhao.

A Perfect Grade pill, even at Third Grade, was something you might never encounter in a lifetime.

Granny sniffed in her Sea of Consciousness. “What’s there to envy? You’ve already gathered the materials. When we get back, the Phoenix-Extreme Spirit Raising Pill I refine for you will be Perfect Grade.”

Lin Zhao almost laughed. “I’m just easily impressed.”

“Watch with steadier eyes,” Granny huffed. “You’ll have your own.”

The promise warmed something in Lin Zhao’s chest. In recent years, she’d seen Sixth-Grade and even Seventh-Grade pills—but Perfect Grade pills were rare enough to count on one hand, and every one she’d seen had gone to Chen Luo Luo.

Knowing she would have Perfect Grade pills of her own calmed her. She watched the stage with quieter focus.

Ning Wen Gui watched her in turn, his evaluation shifting.

He’d assumed Yun Ding Peak had starved her of resources and that she might be tempted. He’d even considered buying a few items to please her.

Now he felt… foolish.

His gaze dropped to his legs, and his hand clenched tightly on the armrest.

If his legs could truly be healed, he would go to that place. At the very least, he would be qualified to protect the young lady beside him.

He’d never had this kind of drive before. But after the news returned from Yun Ding Peak, he’d thrown himself into treatment, even when the results were meager.

Lin Zhao didn’t know any of that. Even if she did, she wouldn’t know how to respond. In both her lives, love had never been kind to her, and she was painfully unsensitive to it.

Near the end of the auction, the auctioneer’s voice rose. “Because of their value, the remaining items will not be auctioned by me.”

An old man in silver robes appeared on the stage.

He looked kind, almost harmless.

But everyone present was a cultivator. They felt the faint, terrifying pressure rolling off him like a tide.

Lin Zhao had felt something like this only from outer elders of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.

A Nascent Soul great expert.

The next items required a Nascent Soul expert to oversee the auction?

Her pulse quickened.

The old man smiled and went straight to the point. With a wave, two maids carried up a long, narrow object wrapped in red silk.

The moment it appeared, Granny stirred sharply in Lin Zhao’s Sea of Consciousness.

Lin Zhao leaned back slightly, mind racing. “Granny, do you recognize it?”

For the first time, Granny’s voice lost its calm. “I can’t be sure. Logically, a weapon of that level shouldn’t appear here.”

On stage, the old man took the object, wrapped his hands in spiritual energy, and carefully unwound the red silk.

Layer by layer, the silk slid away.

What lay beneath was… disappointing.

A rust-covered iron sword. Chipped. Dull. Notched like something you wouldn’t even use to chop vegetables.

But no one laughed.

A Nascent Soul great expert didn’t handle scrap like a treasure.

The old man’s eyes swept the hall. “This sword was obtained by a retainer of the You Lan Imperial Clan in an ancient secret realm. We cannot confirm its origin or function, but after the National Preceptor examined it, he believes it may be connected to the creator Divine Venerable of this continent—the ancient Heavenly Phoenix.”

Granny’s voice rang in Lin Zhao’s mind like a bell struck too hard. “The Heavenly Phoenix Bone Sword!”

Lin Zhao’s breath caught.

“This thing has been missing for tens of thousands of years,” Granny hissed. “How can it be in a place like this? No wonder the Heavenly Phoenix descendants searched everywhere and never found it. Zhao girl, no matter what price you pay, you must get that sword.”

“Fine,” Lin Zhao thought without hesitation.

She didn’t fully understand what the Heavenly Phoenix Bone Sword meant—but Granny never spoke like this unless the matter was life-and-death important.

Not everyone in the hall shared Granny’s knowledge, though. The word “may” in the old man’s statement sparked immediate dissatisfaction.

“Is the auction house mocking us?” someone shouted. “You dare sell something with an uncertain origin and function?”

“That’s right! It was found in an ancient secret realm, sure—but what if it’s just an ordinary mortal weapon that picked up a bit of aura? Whoever buys it would be a fool!”

Most people thought the same. “May be connected” was temptation, but “may” was also a pit.

The old man had expected this. He smiled, unruffled. “That is why this sword is only a bonus. The true auction item is the Seventh-Grade fire-attribute cultivation method in my hands: Heavenflame Art.”

The hall went quiet in a different way.

If an unknown sword raised questions, a Seventh-Grade cultivation method erased them.

Even the Lin Family held only a few Seventh-Grade methods, and only the family head or elders could study them. Lin Zhao could access, at best, the Lin Family’s Sixth-Grade methods.

A Seventh-Grade method appearing here was proof of the You Lan Imperial House’s wealth.

No wonder those imperial princes schemed until blood ran dry.

The old man’s voice cut through the hush. “Starting bid for the cultivation method and ancient sword: ten million low-grade spirit stones!”

Lin Zhao went still.

Ten million.

Even if she sold herself, she wouldn’t scrape together that amount.

And that was only the start.

The bidding exploded, climbing in an instant. Within seconds, it reached eighty million low-grade spirit stones.

Lin Zhao’s fingers tightened on the armrest.

In her mind, Granny spoke fast and sharp. “Have the brat next to you ask whether the auction house accepts trades. I have a Seventh-Grade wind-attribute method here, and its quality is even higher than Heavenflame Art. The Heavenly Phoenix Bone Sword must be obtained!”