After the path was cut off

Until the butler announced the names and unfolded the scroll again.

"The first ring, the sacred site No. 11 of the Bing series—the gravel beach."

"Starting price: 100 Immortal Merit Points."

After the deacon announced the starting price, he paused as usual, waiting for the other person to speak.

Originally, everyone thought that such a small, remote piece of land would probably be divided up by the First Peak and the Seventh Peak just like the ones before it.

Just then, a young voice suddenly rang out urgently from the back of the audience.

"I will offer one hundred immortal merits."

A slight silence fell over the room.

Everyone's gaze followed the voice, and they saw that the speaker was an outer disciple who had just established his foundation. His robes were worn and his face was pale, but he still stood up straight, as if he had already rehearsed the sentence in his mind.

The people around him were clearly taken aback by his audacity to speak up, and their expressions froze for a moment.

Even the deacon who called out the names paused slightly before repeating:

"No. 11, Bingzi, gravel beach."

"Someone has offered 100 immortal merits."

The atmosphere on stage suddenly became somewhat subtle.

Gu Chenglan slowly raised his eyes, his gaze falling on the young disciple, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger.

A moment later, he turned his head to look at Gu Xiangyang, his tone even quite gentle.

"Junior Brother Gu."

"Do you recognize this person?"

Gu Xiangyang followed his gaze and shook his head slightly.

"I don't recognize him."

Gu Chenglan nodded slightly.

"What a coincidence."

"Gu didn't recognize him either."

After he finished speaking, he didn't say anything himself, but simply tapped the edge of the table with his fingertip.

A disciple from the First Peak who had already been registered understood immediately and raised his hand to hold up his sign.

"Three Hundred Immortal Techniques".

The young disciple's face immediately paled, and his lips moved as if he hadn't expected this at all.

After a few breaths, he gritted his teeth and repeated the message in a strained voice:

Three hundred and ten.

Gu Xiangyang did not respond personally, but only tilted his head slightly.

A disciple from the Seventh Peak calmly held up a sign behind him.

"Five Hundred Immortal Techniques".

The room fell silent once more.

The young disciple's face drained of color almost instantly, and even his breathing became erratic.

Someone beside him tugged at his sleeve softly, their voice trembling:

"Stop arguing... Can't you see the situation?"

The young disciple, however, seemed not to hear, his eyes fixed on the officiant calling out names. After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth:

"Five hundred and twenty."

The disciples behind Gu Chenglan raised their placards again.

"one thousand."

The moment those two words were uttered, the entire room seemed to be weighed down by something.

A small, marginal plot of land with a starting price of one hundred was quickly raised to one thousand.

The young disciple froze on the spot, his face almost transparently pale, as if only now did he finally understand what kind of place he had just wandered into.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Somewhere in the audience, someone let out a low chuckle.

"There really are some blind fools. Which peak's disciple is this, coming out to embarrass themselves?"

On the other side, someone else was speaking in a very low voice, as if afraid of being heard by those on stage.

"They dared to participate even without leaving their names."

"So brainless, even if they establish a sect, they'll just be stepping stones for others."

The officiant waited three breaths, and seeing no one respond, he had no choice but to strain his voice and sing:

"Number 11, Section C, Gravel Beach—"

"The First Peak recorded three individuals, each possessing a thousand immortal skills."

The hammer fell.

The sound was even louder than before, making many people's hearts sink.

The young disciple remained standing there, his fist clenched white in his sleeve, as if all his energy had been drained away, and he no longer possessed the courage he had shown earlier.

From this moment on, some people have already gotten up and left. It's just a formality; why stay and humiliate yourself?

This time, the Gravel Beach incident conveniently tore away the fig leaf that the two families were using to cover up their separate banquets.

A small plot of land with a starting price of no more than one hundred immortal merits was forcibly inflated to one thousand.

They weren't lifting the ground.

are people.

The low murmurs from the audience finally broke out.

"This thousand isn't buying a sacred site; it's clearly a case of killing the chicken to scare the monkey."

"The rules set out in the General Affairs Department that night seemed to be written down for us to see."

Shen Bai sat behind the main desk, his fingertips lightly pressing against the edge of the desk, his face still revealing no emotion.

Those who were closer could see the slight whitening at his knuckles.

Amidst the barely suppressed rustling sounds, Du Heng suddenly stood up.

He looked up at the deacon who was announcing names, his voice not loud, but clearly audible:

"The next piece of land."

"Du, offer all your immortal powers in return."

The entire room fell silent.

Gu Chenggang and Gu Xiangyang both turned to look at him.

Even the deacon who called out the names was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously looked up at the main desk.

Shen Bai remained silent.

The deacon, his throat bobbing slightly, had no choice but to continue unrolling the scroll and loudly proclaim:

"The first ring, the fourth sacred site in the T-shape—Broken Cloud Slope."

"Starting price: 50 immortal merits."

Du Heng didn't even pause for half a breath before speaking directly:

"One thousand immortal skills."

"Du doesn't covet those great sacred sites; he only seeks this small sacred site to settle down in."

"May my two senior brothers grant my request."

When that price was offered, many people in the audience changed their expressions.

Everyone could tell—

This is not about fighting for land.

This is to make things difficult for the other two companies.

After the deacon announced the price, his eyes involuntarily turned to Gu Chenglan and Gu Xiangyang.

Neither of them spoke; this was the last piece of spiritual land in the first ring. Even if Du Heng won the bid, what difference would it make?

Therefore, Gu Chenglan did not intend to argue further. This was also a way of giving Du Heng face.

However, Gu Xiangyang slightly tilted his head. Behind him, a disciple who had been registered slowly raised his nameplate.

"One thousand immortal skills".

Gu Chenglan was startled. He immediately sent a telepathic message to Gu Xiangyang, asking what he meant.

At this moment, Du Heng, as if he had expected it, even smiled and continued to raise the price.

"Two thousand immortal skills."

"Could it be that today, apart from these two families, no one else is even worthy of taking a single scrap of land on this Questioning Platform?"

The disciples behind Gu Xiangyang held up their placards firmly.

"Two thousand immortal skills."

This sparked renewed discussion among the audience, and those who had been about to leave returned to their seats.

"What's going on? Du Heng doesn't seem like someone who's brainless..."

"He's deliberately trying to cause trouble..."

"This is going to be interesting?"

"Where does Du Heng get his confidence?"

Gu Chenglan's expression changed. He transmitted his voice again, "Junior Brother Gu, Du Heng is deliberately causing trouble. He must have something to rely on. The situation is already decided. We don't need to fight anymore."

Gu Xiangyang remained unresponsive.

Du Heng, however, seemed to have his momentum bolstered by these echoes, and continued to press closer:

"Three Thousand Immortal Techniques".

"Lord of the Law Enforcement Hall, can't you see that Gu Xiangyang is deliberately making things difficult for me? Can't you see that the First Peak and the Seventh Peak are colluding to divide up the Yunmeng Great Swamp?"

"Can the Hall of Enforcement truly tolerate this?"

The disciples behind Gu Xiangyang once again firmly raised their placards.

"Four Thousand Immortal Techniques".

Du Heng stopped pretending.

"Five thousand immortal skills, this Broken Cloud Slope, I, Du Heng, am determined to have it."

"Gentlemen, are you just going to stand by and watch the two families divide the seats?"

Upon hearing this, some of the people in the audience who had been whispering quietly finally stood up, looking like they were eager to stir up trouble.

"yes!"

"What's the point of competing?"

"Are we sitting here just to watch a show?!"

Once the voices rose, the situation could no longer be controlled.

The disciples from the smaller peaks and those who had just established their foundations in the outer sect, who were already feeling suffocated by the previous rounds of hammer blows, suddenly seemed to find an outlet after Du Heng's words.

"This is unfair!"

"Does the General Affairs Department even care about this?!"

"If only two companies are allowed to acquire the land, why make me come all this way!"

On the platform of inquiry, the buzzing sounds finally merged into one.

The deacon who called out the names turned pale, and even the scroll in his hand trembled slightly.

Du Heng stood in the middle of the field, his chest heaving, and suddenly raised his hand and pointed.

"I don't accept this result!"

"Today's bidding is a scheme to divide seats and collusion. If this is the outcome, I, Du Heng, will kill myself on this stage."

With a loud bang, the entire venue descended into complete chaos.

At that very moment, the Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, who had been standing silently behind Shen Bai, finally raised his eyes.

He watched the scene on the stage, his gaze slowly shifting to Shen Bai.

The voice wasn't loud, but it seemed to instantly drown out the noise of the entire venue.

"Junior Brother Shen."

"I really watched a good show today."