Chapter 19: An Unexpected Turn of Events

On the third morning, Liang Yan had already washed up and dressed neatly, waiting in front of Lin Fei’s courtyard at an early hour.

When Lin Fei stepped outside and saw Liang Yan waiting by the door, he nodded slightly in greeting. With a flick of his sleeve, a mechanical wooden tortoise shot out, and as it soared through the air, a series of clicking and clacking sounds rang out, and in an instant, it had grown to the size of a rooftop.

The mechanical tortoise crouched on the ground. Lin Fei led Liang Yan to leap onto its back, formed a hand seal, and the tortoise scuttled forward at great speed, reaching the mouth of the valley in no time. There, the tortoise transformed into a wooden boat, carrying the two of them as they floated onward.

By now, Liang Yan was no longer the inexperienced youth he once was; he understood well that the waterfalls and rivers he had seen upon first entering the valley were all part of the sect’s protective array. Thus, no matter how the scenery shifted around them, he no longer felt the same anxiety that he had in the past.

Once they left Yunping Mountain, Lin Fei immediately controlled the wooden tortoise to soar into the skies, speeding off toward Emerald Mountain.

Seven days later.

The two landed atop the summit of Emerald Mountain, where several people were already waiting. These were Qi Refining cultivators. When they saw Lin Fei approach, they quickly bowed respectfully and greeted him, “We trouble you, Martial Uncle, to have come all this way.”

Lin Fei nodded affably. “It’s just a sect task, nothing more.”

He did not linger, but led Liang Yan directly to the auction venue—precisely the same cave where Liang Yan had once purchased the wooden fish.

After showing Liang Yan around the site, Lin Fei stopped at the cave entrance and asked with a smile, “Well, do you have confidence in setting up the array here?”

Liang Yan felt ninety percent certain in his heart, but still replied, “Your disciple will do his utmost.”

“Then begin your preparations. The auction will be held at midnight the day after tomorrow. There’s not much time left. As for the materials you’ll need for the array, don’t worry—just ask those people from earlier for whatever you require.”

Liang Yan nodded in assent. Lin Fei glanced at him, said no more, and returned to the vermilion courtyard atop the mountain, where he sat in meditation to rest.

For such auctions, there was usually little for him to do. All related matters were handled by the sect’s local branch and several small surrounding sects working together. His only duty was to appear at the auction itself, to deter any troublemakers or those with ill intentions.

Once Liang Yan had collected all the necessary materials from the branch members, he began setting up the Heaven’s Eye Array. As its name implied, the array required a magic treasure with detection abilities as its core. Liang Yan chose a Bagua Treasure Mirror, adorned around the edges with Taoist trigram symbols and set with a small mirror at its center.

The arrangement of the array varied depending on the time and terrain. Liang Yan tailored it to the location, using two array pearls and eight array flags, and carved the array’s patterns into the ground. He employed the “Wind over Earth” hexagram from the Yi Jing, an arrangement of two different trigrams: Earth below, Wind above—wind sweeping over the land. The “Viewing” and “Approaching” hexagrams were mutually complementary, used alternately. The symbolism: those above survey the world with a broad perspective, those below yield and submit.

In other words, the treasure mirror suspended above the entrance acted as a supervisory envoy, while those entering the array became like subordinate subjects. The overseer observed all; the subordinates submitted. Anyone entering would find all their concealment techniques laid bare beneath the mirror’s gaze.

Though the Heaven’s Eye Array was not a supremely advanced formation, it was by no means easy to master. Liang Yan had delved into the study of arrays for many years, and with his natural talent, his understanding had already reached an astonishing level—though he himself was not yet fully aware of it. At this moment, he subtly modified the Heaven’s Eye Array to suit the terrain; any true master of formations present would surely have been astounded by his skill.

The following afternoon, just as Liang Yan finished carving the final line of the array, a voice of admiration came from behind him: “I did not expect, Nephew Liang, that your talent would bring you such achievements in array techniques.”

Liang Yan turned to look; it was Lin Fei who spoke. Bored, Lin Fei had come to inspect the venue and, seeing the array Liang Yan had laid, could sense its powerful surveillance effect—even though he himself knew little of arrays. The sensation was so strong that even he, a cultivator at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, would have trouble resisting it.

“Excellent! Excellent! With such talent, Nephew Liang, I suspect the six-year challenge will prove no obstacle for you.”

“Martial Uncle Lin flatters me. In truth, I am far from certain about this six-year challenge.”

Lin Fei waved his hand and smiled. “Time is short, and you have worked hard alone on this array. Come, rest with me at the branch for a day. Tomorrow night at midnight, I hope you will achieve success here.”

Liang Yan smiled. “Then I’ll gratefully accept your blessing, Martial Uncle.”

The two returned to the branch atop the mountain. Liang Yan sat quietly in his own room, meditating and recuperating. Unknowingly, a day passed. By nightfall the next day, Liang Yan followed Lin Fei to the auction venue.

Lin Fei enjoyed the privilege of a VIP seat at the auction. After they entered, he greeted Liang Yan before taking his leave, while Liang Yan found himself a spot near the front.

This time, the turnout seemed even larger than at the previous auction, with a steady stream of people still entering as the event was about to begin.

After a while, when the hall was nearly full, Lin Fei flew from the VIP seats to the central platform, briefly introduced the event as he had at the last auction, then withdrew. This time, however, the auctioneer was not the red-nosed old man from before, but a black-faced burly man.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the black-faced man cleared his throat and announced loudly, “I won’t waste words. The first lot in tonight’s auction is a mid-grade Confucian magic artifact—the Mountain and Rivers Fan!”

A female cultivator brought a treasure box onstage, and the black-faced man opened it and took out the fan. With a snap, he unfurled it, revealing a magnificent ink painting of a towering mountain, with rivers winding through nine regions, vivid and lifelike. Extraordinary spiritual energy rippled from its surface.

Without speaking, the black-faced man channeled his power into the fan and struck a trial stone set up for demonstrations. Instantly, a fierce wind howled, and the aura of mountains and rivers surged forth, leaving the stone pitted and scarred.

The audience nodded quietly at the display of power. Everyone knew the trial stone was made of special material; ordinary Qi Refining cultivators would be unable to leave the slightest mark on it with a single blow. The black-faced man hadn’t even refined the fan; the force of a casual wave was already so formidable—how could they not be tempted?

After demonstrating, the black-faced man put away the fan and announced, “The Mountain and Rivers Fan requires a seventh-level Qi Refining cultivation to wield. Starting price, three hundred spirit stones. Minimum increment, twenty stones per bid.”

The crowd immediately began bidding furiously. Only Liang Yan sat with eyes closed, resting as if he had heard nothing. He had only one purpose at this auction: the Barrier-Breaking Pill. He was determined to obtain it.

One item after another was auctioned off, more than twenty in all, but there was still no sign of the pill. Liang Yan grew anxious. Could it be that there would be no Barrier-Breaking Pill at this auction?

Just as uncertainty gnawed at him, the black-faced man on stage announced, “The next item should be familiar to everyone—a pill we Qi Refining cultivators can all use: the Barrier-Breaking Pill!” With that, he took a small white jade bottle from the female cultivator. He opened it and took out a single white pill for the audience to see.

“It really is the Barrier-Breaking Pill!”

“This pill is a great aid for breaking through bottlenecks. It’s worth considering,” the audience murmured.

“One Barrier-Breaking Pill, starting at fifty spirit stones. Minimum increment, five stones per bid!”

“Fifty spirit stones—I’ll take it!” someone immediately called out.

“Fifty-five spirit stones!”

“Sixty-five spirit stones!”

As the bidding escalated, a young man’s voice suddenly rang out: “One hundred spirit stones!”

At this, the hall fell silent. Though the Barrier-Breaking Pill was valuable, a hundred spirit stones was already a steep price, and it was clear the bidder was determined to win.

The bidder was Liang Yan. He had resolved to win the pill no matter what, so he decided to intimidate the competition with a bold opening bid, hoping to discourage others from bidding further.

The black-faced man waited a moment, seeing that no one else was bidding, and began to say, “If there are no further bids, then—”

But before he could finish, a clear, melodious female voice rang out: “One hundred fifty spirit stones!”

Liang Yan frowned and turned to look. In the corner of the hall sat a young woman in white, slender and graceful, with skin fairer than snow. Though her face was concealed by a white veil, it was obvious she was a beauty of rare charm.

Liang Yan was vexed, but after a moment’s hesitation, he called out, “One hundred sixty!”

“Two hundred sixty!”

This time, the woman did not pause at all, instantly bidding a full hundred spirit stones more than Liang Yan.

Liang Yan turned angrily to glare, but the woman met his gaze without fear, even allowing a hint of teasing to flash in her eyes.