A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Inside the Guiyuan Pavilion, the old Daoist Mingxin looked solemn as he gazed at the returning Tongxin Daoist, his face ashen. He sighed softly.

"It seems that my junior brother's plan has been seen through by the other party. Even I, an old Taoist, have become the villain in other people's eyes."

The Copper Heart Daoist sensed the dissatisfaction in the other party's words. Already in a bad mood, he merely cupped his hands slightly and said...

"Senior brother, there's no need to worry. This kid will definitely not escape my grasp. At most, I'll let him run around for a couple more days."

"Oh? It seems Junior Brother already has a plan in mind? May I ask what your scheme is? Could you tell this old Daoist about it?"

Seeing that the other party was not in a hurry, the old Taoist Mingxin asked curiously.

"I've already exposed his true identity. If he dares to hide here any longer, then let him taste the bitterness of being separated from his loved ones forever!"

Tongxin Daoist glanced at Mingxin Laodao, then said through gritted teeth.

........

In the quiet room of Guiyuan Pavilion, Zhou Ping put away his bamboo hat and paced back and forth with a slight frown.

Before entering the stone wall of Guiyuan Pavilion, he deliberately took off his straw hat and lingered there for a moment.

This was done so that the Taoist Tongxin, who was secretly lying in wait, would discover his return.

Only by knowing his whereabouts can the other party avoid making any excessive reactions.

Zhou Ping's goal was to use himself to restrain the other party's actions and draw all their attention to him.

This will allow Chen Dafu as much time as possible to relocate his family.

Only by making Tongxin Daoren feel that everything is under his control can he ensure that his family will not be targeted by him for the time being.

After thinking all this through, Zhou Ping finally felt a little more at ease. For Chen Dafu, this was undoubtedly a good opportunity to bring the two of them closer.

He will definitely do his best to handle it well. If he can tie Zhou Ping's family to the Chen family, it will be equivalent to tying Zhou Ping to the Chen family's carriage as well.

By any measure, the Chen family would have made a huge profit from this deal, and with Chen Dafu's shrewd mind, he could naturally see it even more clearly.

The next morning, the entire Guiyuan Pavilion became lively. Amidst the clamor of voices, numerous cultivators flocked to the Guiyuan Auction House located on the third floor.

At this moment, on the third floor of Guiyuan Pavilion, where the central island was originally hollow, a huge circular flying disc had appeared floating on it.

On the floating frisbee, three cultivators stood quietly, calmly watching the cultivators coming from all directions.

Among the three, the leader was an old man in gray robes, while the other two were both beautiful and graceful female cultivators.

Two beautiful female cultivators stood obediently to the side and behind the gray-robed old man, their eyes filled with awe as they looked at him.

The gray-robed old man was named Yun Shanghe, one of the Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed here by Guiyuan Pavilion.

Although he was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, he still became a highly sought-after figure in the Guiyuan Pavilion.

The reason is simple: besides being a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Yun Shanghe is also a genuine intermediate-level alchemist.

This single identity is enough to make him popular with everyone.

After arriving on the third floor, Zhou Ping took a strange mask from the servant's hand, hesitated for a moment, and then put it on his face.

According to the introduction, this mask, which has the special effects of isolating divine sense and altering sound, was specially prepared by the weapon-refining master of Guiyuan Pavilion for the cultivators participating in the auction.

In this way, it can effectively prevent others from detecting the items, allowing everyone to bid on their favorite treasures with peace of mind and confidence at the auction.

Guiyuan Pavilion's considerations were quite thorough, after all, no one wants to be targeted by countless envious people after buying a treasure.

Zhou Ping cleared his throat curiously and found that his voice suddenly became deep and resonant, sounding like that of a middle-aged man.

It's definitely a good item. Getting one of these masks would be a great reward.

Unfortunately, after the auction, these masks are collected by specific individuals in a safe place, and none of them are released to the outside world.

Zhou Ping sighed slightly with regret. While marveling at Guiyuan Pavilion's wealth and power, he gradually lost his desire for the mask.

At this moment, the third floor of Guiyuan Pavilion was almost full of cultivators wearing all sorts of masks.

According to Zhou Ping's estimate, almost 99% of them are Qi Refining stage cultivators. As for whether there are any Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, he has no idea.

However, it is certain that all the guides stationed here by various sects are at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Given the grand occasion, they should come and join in the fun. If one or two more treasures were to fall from their hands, the auction would surely drive countless Qi Refining cultivators crazy.

On his way here, Zhou Ping did not find any of the promotional phrases mentioned in the book, nor did he see anyone discussing what the grand finale treasure might be.

It seems that this Guiyuan Auction is rather ordinary, and can only be considered a large-scale exchange event for cultivators.

What Zhou Ping didn't know was that auctions at the lowest level like those in Tianyan Town were often like this, with very few valuable items appearing.

After all, the audience here consists of rogue cultivators in the Qi Refining stage, who don't have much of a reputation. Even if some rare items happen to appear, they might not fetch a good price.

Given Guiyuan Pavilion's shrewdness, it would naturally not allow such a thing to happen.

Therefore, whenever a rare item appears, after being appraised by the manager of Guiyuan Pavilion, it will be sent to a higher-level auction.

Only in auctions attended by high-ranking cultivators can these treasures fetch unexpectedly high prices.

Zhou Ping was naturally unaware of these inside stories at the time; he could only remark that the scenes differed slightly from those described in the book.

Even at the lowest level of auction, with so many cultivators involved, a large number of items will still be displayed.

Among these items are many things that cultivators in the Qi Refining stage desperately need, and they would drive them crazy for them.

For example, the Golden Spirit Seeds that Zhou Ping urgently needed, although not commonly seen, became a frequent auction item at the Guiyuan Auction, and were taken out by their owners to exchange for other useful resources.

Zhou Ping found an inconspicuous corner and sat down. He looked around and saw that each seat was about eight or nine zhang apart, which greatly ensured personal privacy. It seemed that Guiyuan Pavilion had done this intentionally.

Just as he was looking around, Yun Shanghe cleared his throat slightly on the floating disc in the middle.

The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of all the cultivators present.

The entire venue immediately fell silent, and everyone's attention was focused on the frisbee in the center.

Some lewd individuals openly stared at the two female cultivators' impressive figures, chuckling softly.