Cao Yun didn't stay long once his preparations were done. Soon, he would come back here. But now was not the time. If he tried to attack Gu Song, he would most likely be thwarted. With the Spirit Condensation Barrier, he would be able to escape but he would have lost his chance of stealing his memories, and of killing him.

A few hours before the auction, Hall Master Qinghe Ming came to his room to inform him that the first bidders had arrived. Among them were Xue Rui and Jiahe Ruo. After some time, Cao Yun decided to also join the auction room. The Major Hall of the Subei Province wasn't as prestigious as other Major Halls Cao Yun had seen. Of course, it was better than the one in Yinmen City, but that wasn't saying much. In fact, Cao Yun had not really participated in an auction since he had bid against Luo Jiang. As it turned out, Luo Jiang was probably an alchemist under Gu Song too. At the very least, he had his Heart Locking Fire Pact in him as well. And today, Cao Yun was going to bid against Xue Rui. Hopefully, he would only be interested in the True Essence pill and wouldn't rack up the price of the Eternal Frostfire Fir. Well, Cao Yun didn't care about the price at this point, but he didn't want to show too much of his wealth either.

As he entered the antechamber of the auction room, he saw many people he recognized. Most of them came to greet him. On the side, Xue Rui was bitter but he knew he couldn't do a thing within the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall. If only he could be isolated alone with this Guai Mo, he would kill him. No, he had to suffer first. Guai Mo had to be humiliated and then tortured to death. He had slapped Xue Rui's face and wanted to steal his spot for the Alchemy Conference. And because of him, Xue Rui might be forced to go after the only woman who seemed to care about him.

As Xue Rui had those distorted thoughts, bending the events to fit his narrative, Jiahe Ruo was torn apart. He knew that going to Guai Mo now would clearly be spitting in Xue Rui's face. But then, he remembered what his bodyguard had seen in his chambers. Finally, he decided to walk toward Guai Mo and greeted him. In return, Cao Yun showed him more consideration than others. This wasn't just because he was the Governor's son, but because his character seemed quite good.

Being so close to Xue Rui though, Cao Yun could sense something ominous. So could Dian Mo.

"His Heart Locking Fire Pact has evolved. My guess is that he used someone's soul to strengthen it and put it under control. But that's a fool's errand. Although the black flame seems to be more docile, it's quite the opposite. As long as he feeds it, it will grow stronger and be appeased, just like your Drop of Wrath at first. But since it's stronger, it will in fact be more and more difficult to control it. So if he stops feeding it or lose control for even one instant, it will destroy him completely. Only a fool would use such a method."

"Or a master cultivating a black flame in another's body..."

"Yes, it makes sense. Your trap seems to have worked. Gu Song has clearly forsaken this disciple and is just using him as a human crucible to develop this black flame."

"Then, what I felt last night in his residence..."

"Most likely, he was consuming someone's soul."

Hearing what he had feared, Cao Yun became somber.

"Come one. You can't save everyone. Neither should you, by the way. Unless you want to become a saint..."

"I know all that. But letting innocent people be tortured and killed while I'm nearby doesn't really feel good. There is a large gap between being a saint trying to bring salvation to all and being completely indifferent to the suffering under your own eyes. However, you are right on that point. I can't save everyone and I made my peace with that. By getting rid of Gu Song, and Xue Rui of course, I'll do a lot of good. But if I act harshly to save only a few, many more will suffer."

As much as he was trying to rationalize it, Dian Mo could sense that Cao Yun was still affected. In his eyes, the boy was still too young. Despite the horrors he had already seen, he was a bit too sentimental. Cultivators who could live thousands of years or even more saw much more suffering and death than anyone else. At some time, this sentimentality in Cao Yun would go away and he could see the big picture more clearly.

As he was thinking about what Xue Rui had probably done to improve the black flame in his heart, the Flying Poison within his Drop of Wrath seemed to move around. Ever so slowly, it was coiling itself around the Po character inside the Drop of Wrath. But this was also affecting Cao Yun's Po character and his very mental stability as well. At the moment though, he wasn't aware of that. Still, he suppressed his anger so that there was nothing suspicious about him. Then, he reasoned, he rationalized, and he hated himself for that.

While Cao Yun was reining in his anger, Xue Rui was trying to do the same. Just seeing that face was making him furious. Since he couldn't blame himself, he had shifted all of it on Cao Yun, this was convenient. Right now, he could feel the black flame getting agitated in his very heart. Thankfully, he had dual cultivated just before coming to this auction. Recently, he was doing it more and more often. Each time, he reasoned that he truly needed it to stay in control. But deep down, what he refused to admit even to himself, was that he loved hurting Zhong Ling. Even though her soul was already in shambles, he just couldn't refrain himself. Seeing the look in her eyes was just priceless.

All the changes within the black flame were seen through by Cao Yun. Despite Xue Rui's Wei Qi concealing it, Cao Yun's knowledge of both Evil Qi and Death Energy made him the greatest expert in those domains on the entire Piaolu planet. No one could fully hide those from him. And even other experts in those sinister energies would be able to blind him completely to their nature.

After accepting the greetings from everyone, Cao Yun went to Xue Rui. At first Jiahe Ruo tried to dissuade him.

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"Brother Guai, I know that you and Xue Rui had some tensions. Although I fear that you won't be good friends, I do not think there are any reason for you to hold a grudge. When the competition held by my father is over, only one of you will be the representative of our Subei Province in the Alchemy Conference. But surely, both of you will have demonstrated exceptional alchemy. Please, do not let your rivalry turn into a deeper grudge. Our Hongchen Kingdom needs all its alchemists. The fate of our very kind may depend on you someday. Since you can't make peace, at least, avoid war."

This time, Cao Yun could sense a true sincerity in Jiahe Ruo's words. Even though he wasn't a governor, or didn't even have any official office now, Jiahe Ruo was still thinking of the good of the kingdom. A feud between powerful alchemists was a terrible thing for all. But of course, Cao Yun knew that this war was unavoidable and that Xue Rui would die anyway.

Hearing those words from the other side of the room, Xue Rui was quite upset. But at least, his former friend had tried to save his face as much as possible. However, Cao Yun had another idea. This auction was meant for him to push Xue Rui to the edge, as far as he could. After feeling the state of his Heart Locking Fire Pact, this invigorated him to go forward with his plans.

"Xue Rui, I have no grudge against you as the boot has no grudge with the ant. In that competition, I will slap your face in front of everyone and you won't dare show it again in public. Be a good dog and get out of my way!"

"You...!"

A flare of the black flame hurt Xue Rui as his anger erupted. He even had to control himself not to spew out blood. Everyone in the antechamber didn't know how to react. This was truly a declaration of war against Xue Rui. This could even be seen as a declaration of war against the entire Xue family. Guai Mo was just too arrogant. No matter how talented he was, he had to be more restrained. Even if he had to compete against Xue Rui, he could more civil about it. Some, like Jiahe Ruo, discerned something else though. Surely Guai Mo had his reasons to be so opposed to Xue Rui. But they simply couldn't figure it out.

Hall Master Qinghe also heard the dispute. He made a mental note to always treat Xue Rui with the minimum respect he could so that he wouldn't annoy Cao Yun. Right now, Qinghe Ming's reputation was skyrocketing among the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall and everything was thanks to Cao Yun. If that Xue Rui was seen as an enemy by Cao Yun, it would be best to avid developing relations with him, he would stick to a strictly professional attitude toward him. In fact, he was even rethinking his attitude toward the entire Xue family.

Since the atmosphere had changed for the worse, Qinghe Ming decided that it was best to start the auction early. There were a few good items but two of them were of utmost importance, the True Essence pill sold by Cao Yun and the Eternal Frostfire Fir he wanted to buy. After thinking a lot about it, Qinghe Ming had decided to sell the True Essence pill a bit earlier than the Eternal Frostfire Fir. Usually, the best item was kept for last, but he thought it would be good to Cao Yun. Indeed, many would have already spent a lot of money on other items and the True Essence pill would have certainly cost a lot as well. The bidding for the Eternal Frostfire Fir would thus be easier.

Although he knew that Cao Yun could afford it, he also knew that he didn't want to show all his money in public.

For now, he entered the antechamber before things could escalate further. The guards of the Major Hall were also put on high alert. They even decided to move around the seats to make sure that Guai Mo and Xue Rui would interact as little as possible. Breaking the awkward atmosphere, Hall Master Qinghe announced the beginning of the auction.

"Esteemed customers, this humble servant welcomes you all in our Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall. We hope that the meager items that we will auction today will catch your eyes. And we hope that you will leave our establishment with satisfaction. Although we are certain that no such outburst could happen, remember that our Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall is the guarantor of this auction. In other words, we will tolerate no violence or threat in our establishment or near it. The items sold are under the protection of our Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall for as long as you are within the perimeter of our Major Hall."

Usually, no hall master would remind people of this as this was clearly a form of veiled threat. But after the harsh words between Cao Yun and Xue Rui, no one seemed to mind. Of course, Xue Rui wasn't pleased. Everyone knew the rules of the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall. It was obvious that violence or even threats were forbidden within the auction hall. But it was also forbidden to try and steal from a buyer after the auction. Although the official rule stated that it was only around the auction hall, stealing an auctioned item would be an insult to the reputation of the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall. Not only the hall, but even the Governor would punish such an offense. Although there was no powerhouse in the Major Hall of Qingyun City, the Governor would make sure that everyone abided by the rules. After all, the Imperial City had petitioned the Main Hall to obtain such a local branch. They had to respect them now. Indeed, Qingyun City needed the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall more than they needed them.

Several servants wearing the color of the Major Hall lead the influential people to their respective lodges. The rest of the potential buyers were lead to the main room. Cao Yun was obviously lead to such a lodge. It was a tiny room with a balcony open on the auction room itself. They also had curtains in case someone wanted more privacy or even to hide their identity. But no one did. After all, they were all members of prominent families. If they had wanted to hide their identity, they wouldn't have come into the antechamber to begin with.

In the main room, a few men and women were standing on a stage where a few items were already visible. For now, nothing caught Cao Yun's eyes. There were a couple of weapons, three pills, a scroll and a painting. Although that painting was incredible, Cao Yun didn't care much. On the other hand, Jiahe Ruo was immediately hooked. This man was a huge patron of arts and a great connoisseur as well. After seeing this painting, he already knew everything about it. Right now, it was the most expensive item in the auction.

Unfortunately, Jiahe Ruo had already spent most of his money to pay for Cao Yun's expensive banquet. With a complicated look, he turned his head toward him. If he had known, he wouldn't have proposed to pay for his dinner. He could have just bought a good wine instead... But at the very least, it seemed as though he had made a good impression on the alchemist. And something was telling him that it had been the right decision. However, not being able to obtain this painting was a huge blow to him. Although he had come to this auction, it was just a show for him since he didn't have much money.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's begin with this Gorilla Fleeting pill. As you already know, this is a 5-star Earth pill that can greatly increase one's strength for a short amount of time. Although it's not very impressive for some of you, let me tell you that this pill reached the Pure grade with 96% of the medicinal essence within. Besides there is less than 10% of the toxins. It could help a 1st-grade Mortal Warrior reach the strength of a 3rd-grade Mortal Warrior for more than ten breaths. The first price is fifteen taels of gold."

"Sixteen taels."

"Eighteen taels and five hundred coins."

...