The slap from the middle-aged female Tribulation Cultivator was wrapped in dense Innate True Qi, making it extremely intimidating.

If Chen Lingxiang was struck, half of her face might collapse!

Being bound by the Innate Sixth Layer, which was two realms higher, Chen Lingxiang felt her movements become very sluggish.

With her suppressed speed, she couldn't dodge the might of this overwhelming palm at all.

Chen Lingxiang gritted her teeth and condensed a rather sturdy Innate Barrier, trying to block this attack.

Across from her, the scar-faced man watched the tigress suddenly burst into action, his expression involuntarily darkening.

However, before the scar-faced man could speak, he saw... a head spinning up into the air!

It spun several times mid-air, and finally rolled right to the feet of the scar-faced man!

Staring at the furious, fierce face still visible on that head, the scar-faced man was suddenly stunned.

The one who lost her head... how was it that tigress?!

"Who?!"

At this moment, the scar-faced man's heart instantly filled with terror.

The scar-faced man was also Innate Sixth Layer... a partner with the same cultivation level died inexplicably.

Doesn't that mean he might face this terrifying fate too?!

"Which master is here?!" Looking at the forest around him that suddenly became terrifying, as if an invisible hand could reach out at any moment, splitting him apart, the scar-faced man quickly pleaded.

"It's us, the Desert North Heroes, who failed to recognize Mount Tai. We have ties with the Shangxiao Sect in the Western Territory. Please, Master, out of consideration for the Shangxiao Sect, show mercy!"

His voice echoed in the forest, but no response came.

Staring at the nearby blue-gowned woman, who seemed stunned by the sight of her partner's death.

The scar-faced man hardened his heart and intended to go over and take her hostage to trade for a chance to escape.

The next moment, just as the scar-faced man moved his foot...

Pff!

His chest exploded!

In less than a minute, two Innate Realm Tribulation Cultivators who claimed to be the Desert North Heroes perished instantly.

Chen Lingxiang was momentarily dazed, but quickly came to her senses and, undisturbed by the bloody aura, immediately collected the spoils from the two.

"Young Master Lu, I helped you gather the spoils."

Looking around, Chen Lingxiang diligently searched for Lu Ye's whereabouts, as there were no outsiders present, she didn't use a false name anymore.

The next moment, a silhouette quietly appeared in front of Chen Lingxiang.

Rushing over, Chen Lingxiang handed two Storage Rings to Lu Ye, while removing the human skin mask from her face.

Smoothing the strands of blue silk falling by her ears, Chen Lingxiang raised her face, speaking earnestly: "Thank you, Young Master Lu, for saving my life. If you need anything in the future, Lingxiang... Lingxiang is willing to do anything!"

At this moment, if she weren't mindful of her father's prior words, Chen Lingxiang might have stepped forward to express her feelings.

But she was afraid...

What if Lu Ye rejected her?

Wouldn't that make future meetings awkward?

So, with dual concerns, even though Chen Lingxiang wanted to muster the courage to advance, ultimately she didn't have the guts.

"Once the Patriarch breaks through... once the Patriarch breaks through, I can do what I want to do!" This thought flashed through her mind, and Chen Lingxiang's gaze gradually grew firm.

One of the hardest things in the world is being face-to-face and still unable to express your feelings, unable to touch the other person.

She didn't want to spend the rest of her life, even beside Lu Ye, only able to interact as friends!

"We're already friends. Miss Lingxiang gave me a Storage Ring and Communication Jade Token before. It's nothing significant." Lu Ye smiled faintly, then used his Spiritual Sense to explore the two Storage Rings.

There weren't many things in the two Storage Rings, tens of thousands of silver notes, plus a bottle with four remaining Innate Lower Grade Elixirs, likely robbed from some unfortunate cultivator.

In the corner, there's also a Blood-Burning Pill for enhancing strength by burning vital essence.

As for Source Crystals, considering these two's cultivation level and background, there wasn't a single one.

"Oh, a Disciple Token from the Shangxiao Sect?"

In the middle-aged woman's Storage Ring, Lu Ye unexpectedly found a Disciple Token and a diamond-shaped token with an unknown purpose.

The diamond-shaped token bore no words, just depicted a turbulent sea.

Regarding the Shangxiao Sect, Lu Ye vaguely heard of it, seemingly a top sect in the Western Territory, comparable in status to the Red Cloud Sect in the Northern Territory.

Moreover, the Western Territory, due to its proximity to the Demon Beast Mountain Range spanning ten thousand miles, had a fiercer ethos than the Northern Territory.

Within the same realm, cultivators from the Western Territory, accustomed to fighting, had greater combat effectiveness.

"These Desert North Heroes from the Western Territory were quite famous among Innate Realm Tribulation Cultivators, yet I didn't expect one of them to be from the Shangxiao Sect," said Chen Lingxiang.

"Young Master Lu, heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know; the Shangxiao Sect in the Western Territory is one of the top two sects, clearly superior to the Purple Origin Sect." Chen Lingxiang added with a touch of caution, "This matter will stay buried in Lingxiang's heart."

"You can keep these Innate Elixirs." Lu Ye pulled out the bottle of Innate Lower Grade Elixirs and tossed it to Chen Lingxiang.

He had no use for Innate Elixirs anymore, and lower-grade ones contained impurities and significant pill toxins.

Consuming one requires time to digest the pill toxin, making them much cheaper than upper-grade ones.

"These are your spoils, Young Master Lu, Lingxiang can't take them for free." Chen Lingxiang thought for a moment, then took out a million silver notes from her Storage Ring and handed them to Lu Ye.

...

At dusk, the city was brightly lit, and Bai Chuan Auction was bustling again.

Tonight, Lu Ye didn't plan to attend the auction again.

After listening to Ruxue's "voice report" earlier, nothing piqued his interest.

Not until close to midnight, when movement came from the Communication Jade Token, sent by Ruxue, informing Lu Ye to collect the Source Crystal from the auction proceeds.

Only then did Lu Ye leisurely head to the auction house.

Inside the room.

Upon seeing Lu Ye push the door open and enter, Ruxue somewhat resentfully said, "Young Master Chen, why didn't you attend the auction? Weren't you afraid the elixir I auctioned for you wouldn't fetch a good price?"

She hosted almost twenty items for auction this evening.

Aside from the most treasured items, she was most focused on the Innate Source-Breaking Pill, sparing no effort to incite the audience to bid higher.

Once the auction concluded, looking around, she realized... the principal wasn't even present!

Alas, all the effort went to waste, and the gavel banging came to nothing since the main person didn't see it.

Now seeing Lu Ye, who came leisurely, Ruxue felt a faint sense of resentment.

Was she... was she so unappealing, even while helping him auction items, he didn't even have the time to take a look?

Seeing Ruxue, who seemed quite resentful, Lu Ye couldn't help but smile and said, "Isn't it because I trust Miss Ruxue? Even if I'm busy, there's no need to worry."

"Young Master Chen is such a charmer, it was worth Ruxue almost shouting her voice hoarse."

Ruxue, having cultivated years of experience, knew not to overstep and risk annoyance, so she promptly withdrew, wearing a trace of a smile.

Then, in a rather mysterious tone, she continued: "Young Master Chen, do you know... how many Source Crystals the Innate Source-Breaking Pill fetched?"

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