Chapter 54: Hitting a Brick Wall

After a brief moment, today's auction officially commenced.

The very first item brought out by the auctioneer immediately caught Ye Fan's attention.

It was a rare heavenly treasure that had grown for a full century. Although its age was not exceptionally long, it was still vastly superior to ordinary goods.

For Ye Fan, such an item was genuinely useful.

However, it was clear that he was not the only one eyeing this object.

The starting bid for this item was one million spirit stones, and within a mere two minutes, its price was driven up to three million.

Ye Fan deliberately waited for a moment, and seeing that no one else was raising the bid, he immediately stood up and called out, "Three million five hundred thousand!"

This move instantly drew the attention of many people around him.

While a century-old heavenly treasure was not entirely common, a price of three.5 million spirit stones was undeniably on the high side.

The cultivator who had just bid three million cast a somewhat displeased glance at Ye Fan and ultimately chose not to speak again.

As the auctioneer struck the gavel three times, Ye Fan successfully won the first heavenly treasure.

The resources of the Central Region were truly different.

By comparison, it was rare to encounter such century-old items in the auction houses of Luocheng in the Northwest Territory.

Over the next half-hour, various goods were successively presented on the table.

Ye Fan's objective remained extremely clear: regardless of the cost, he claimed every single heavenly treasure aged a century or more, sweeping them all into his possession.

Watching Ye Fan's extravagantly lavish spending, a trace of regret welled up in Chu Ling'er's heart once again.

In this short span of time, Ye Fan had shelled out nearly thirty million spirit stones.

Judging by his demeanor, he still seemed unsatisfied, leading her to believe he still had plenty of reserves in his pockets.

One had to know that these spirit stones surpassed the combined income of their Linghan Sect over the past few years.

Chu Ling'er felt a twinge of jealousy; if she had remained with Ye Fan, all these spirit stones would have belonged to her in the future.

The entire auction lasted a full two hours, and Ye Fan bought every single heavenly treasure over a century old at high prices, not letting a single one slip away.

Immediately after the auction concluded, Ye Fan went backstage to confirm and complete the transaction.

Only after placing all these items into his storage bag did he finally set his mind at ease.

With these resources, he felt confident that he could elevate his cultivation to the next level.

Ye Fan originally intended to stay and attend a few more auctions to acquire more resources.

On second thought, however, heading to the Heavenly Sword Sect took priority.

Yet just as he and Chu Ling'er left the auction house, they were targeted by several cultivators.

"Kid, you were quite arrogant back at the auction!"

"You even dare to snatch things right out of our hands? I think you've got a death wish."

"I'll have you know that this lord here is an inner disciple of the Divine Fist Sect. No one in the entire Jiangling City dares to compete with me for anything!"

"And you look remarkably unfamiliar, kid. You're not a local, are you? Where did you crawl out from?"

Though their words were tough, these men did not immediately make a move on Ye Fan.

After all, they had not yet figured out Ye Fan's background; should he happen to be a disciple of a top-tier faction in the Central Region, it would spell considerable trouble.

"The soaring Heaven Sect, Ye Fan."

How could Ye Fan fail to see through these men's thoughts? He immediately stated his affiliation.

"The Soaring Heaven Sect? Never heard of it."

"Have any of you guys heard of it?"

"Nope. I reckon it's just some third-rate sect that gathered a bunch of stray cats and dogs to set up a signboard."

At this moment, Chu Ling'er, who had been following quietly behind Ye Fan, seized the opportunity to interject: "Of course you haven't heard of it. That is the premier sect of our Northwest Territory!"

Though it sounded as though she were speaking up for Ye Fan, her true intention was to completely put those men at ease so they would deal with him.

Everyone knew that the factions of the Northwest Territory were utterly negligible compared to those of the Central Region.

Even the preeminent Soaring Heaven Sect was nothing more than a bottom-tier sect upon arriving in the Central Region.

Sure enough, upon hearing that he was from the Northwest Territory, they almost laughed their heads off.

"Ha! No wonder I've never heard of it. So you're just a bumpkin from the Northwest Territory!"

"Kid, I must say you've got some nerve."

"Used to acting like tyrants up in the Northwest, are you? To think you'd dare run wild here in the Central Region."

"Before my brothers and I lose our tempers, honestly hand over everything you just bought."

"If we're in a good mood, we might just spare your life."

"Otherwise, I'll make sure you never make it back to the Northwest Territory!"

Ignoring them entirely, Ye Fan glared back at Chu Ling'er behind him: "When the master is speaking, since when does a mere maid have the right to interrupt?"

Hearing this, Chu Ling'er instantly wilted; having her status exposed so publicly made her feel utterly humiliated.

Seeing themselves ignored by Ye Fan, the group flew into a rage.

"Are your ears broken, kid?"

"My lords are talking to you!"

"You should be kowtowing in gratitude that you're still breathing right now, so don't be ungrateful."

"Hand over the goods obediently, and then get the hell back to the Northwest Territory with your tail between your legs!"

Finally, Ye Fan raised his eyes to look straight at them and asked, "And what if I refuse?"

"Refuse?"

"Fine, kid, then you won't be going back at all."

"Brothers, get him!"

Just as these men rushed forward to teach Ye Fan a lesson, a surge of spiritual energy rippled in front of him.

The next second, four formidable figures materialized out of thin air!

The powerful aura of the Half-God Realm burst forth, instantly blasting the men backward.

Although those fellows possessed the cultivation of the Void God Realm, in front of Half-God experts, they were completely inadequate.

"Do you still want to rob me?"

Ye Fan slowly stepped out from behind the four figures, staring at them with an icy expression.

The men exchanged blank, terrified glances. Never in their wildest dreams could they have imagined that a mere bumpkin from the Northwest Territory would be guarded by four Half-God powerhouses.

"How can the forces of the Northwest Territory be this strong?"

"This... what do we do now?"

"What else can we do? We handle it the old-school way!"

Anyone could tell these scoundrels were habitual offenders. They instantly shed their previous arrogance, turning to kneel and kowtow respectfully before Ye Fan.

"Please forgive us, Your Excellency!"

"We were just making a little joke with you earlier, please don't take offense!"

"Yes, yes! We were merely playing around, no malicious intent whatsoever."

"We apologize for startling you. To show our sincerity, we happen to have some spirit stones here; we hope Your Excellency will accept them!"

With that, each of them dug out their own storage bags, holding them up respectfully with both hands as they offered them to Ye Fan.

Making no pretense of modesty, Ye Fan took them all. Reaching in with his divine sense to inspect the contents, he found there was nearly twenty million altogether.

One had to admit, disciples of these Central Region sects were truly wealthy.

As a newcomer to the Central Region, Ye Fan preferred not to draw too much attention. Since they had already apologized and offered compensation, there was no need to blow the matter out of proportion.

"Get lost."

"Understood! Have a wonderful time, Your Excellency!"

"We'll be taking our leave now, brothers!"

Scrambling and tumbling, the men fled the scene as fast as they could, terrified that if they dawdled, Ye Fan might change his mind.

As long as they kept their lives, losing a bit of wealth meant nothing!