In the end, the Fengli Staff was sent to Shen Lian under Zhao Xiaoyu’s instructions.

　　The veil of clouds dispersed, and Zhao Xiaoyu looked at him with keen eyes and a smile on her face. Shen Lian wondered what was on her mind. Shen Lian was not affected by her beauty, though the same could not be said about Wu Qingzi.

　　Shen Lian accepted the Fengli Staff graciously. He never planned to bid against Zhao Xiaoyu, to begin with. He knew that he would be able to find a way to get it even if the item ended up in her hands. However, he did not expect her to hand it over to him as a gift after all the hassle. He was terribly confused by her move.

　　To be fair, both of them could not even be considered as friends. They engaged in a fierce battle back in Yue Tuo Kingdom, and that was partially the reason why Shen Lian managed to enter the path of Daoism. In the end, Shen Lian put behind the history between them and allowed for Zhao Xiaoyu to leave.

　　Five years had passed, and Zhao Xiaoyu had improved significantly. Her level of cultivation was deep and unpredictable. Shen Lian thought that she was doing it because of the past grudges, and yet it seemed that she was merely fooling around.

　　At this point, the past was not important anymore. Moreover, Shen Lian had deep mana now, and he was also equipped with Tongtian Skill. Moreover, he was the chief of Qing Xuan. He did not need to worry about being ambushed by her. If she sent it over as a gift, he would accept it graciously and without hesitation. He was not worried at all.

　　“Fellow Daoist Shen, since when did you know Fairy Xiaoyu? You both seemed close,” Wu Qingzi said with complicated feelings.

　　“I was about to ask what you were planning too. Didn’t you just try to spend an exorbitant sum in order to make her happy?” Shen Lian replied.

　　“There’s nothing to hide. The martial exercise that I’m cultivating focuses on ‘Taishang Wangqing’. If I did not have strong feelings, there would be nothing to forget about. Fairy Xiaoyu is the only one that I could harbor feelings for, I’m moved by her every move. Too bad that she does not even bother to take a glance at me,” Wu Qingzi replied honestly. He was indeed one in a million, and he deserved Zhao Xiaoyu’s respect. It was just that no matter how much he did, from Xi Huang to Eastern Sea, Zhao Xiaoyu ignored him completely. Besides Zhao Xiaoyu, there was nothing in the world that Wu Qingzi cared about. No matter how much he did, he could not move Zhao Xiaoyu’s heart of stone.

　　Wu Qingzi fell in love with Zhao Xiaoyu because of his cultivation. However, his love for her was too deep now, and it was impossible for him to find someone else. If he could not move on, this would spell the end of his Taishang Detection Technique, and he would remain stagnant forever.

　　“Daoist brother, you didn’t have to explain to me so clearly. Moreover, she could hear us talking,” Shen Lian sighed.

　　“My feelings are real, and so is my technique. What’s there to hide?” Wu Qingzi replied.

　　After hearing his words, Shen Lian was slightly impressed. Without his magnanimity, he would not have gotten far even if he was from the Taishang Daoist Sect. Though, Shen Lian could not help but think that this was not how one should woo a girl.

　　Interesting and eye-opening items followed, and amongst them, there was a block of meat –”Meat of Observance”. There was an eye in the middle of it. The more one ate, the more it grew. It was impossible to finish eating it.

　　There was also an ancient mirror. If one were to look at it, one could see one’s internal organs.

　　There were a lot more items that were as such.

　　Regardless of how interesting the items were, they were essentially useless to the likes of Shen Lian. After attaining the state of Bigu, the Meat of Observance would do nothing much for them. At most, it could maintain the energy of the body. Its effect was nowhere near that of Yiyuan Elixir. Though, if it fell into the hands of a mortal, it would be very useful indeed. It might even be treated as a national treasure.

　　After all, its characteristic – endless supply was a good sign.

　　As for the ancient mirror, them aside, even a cultivator who had attained the state of Qiaodong could inspect their internal organs. Being able to see their internal organs was really a useless feature to them. Though, to the doctors in the mortal world, this item would be valuable and could potentially help to save countless lives.

　　This was a lot more advanced than the medical imaging technologies back in the modern world where Shen Lian came from, and it was one of the key advantages Celestial cultivation had over the modern age.

　　After securing the Fengli Staff, Shen Lian did not do much besides observing the remaining items. Moreover, nothing caught his interest anyway.

　　After the commotion, everything returned to its once quiet state. A lot of people seemed disinterested. Even though most of them were non-formal cultivators, but a lot of them were the esteemed members of the sea nations.

　　They were here at the celestial market to procure some interesting and rare items, and at the same time, to join in the fun.

　　Now that the fun part was over, coupled with the lack of interesting items, the atmosphere dulled significantly. There were even instances where no one bade for the items.

　　Out of a sudden, the cultivator in charge of the auction took out an item. It was round and it looked like a pebblestone. There were red lights swirling on top, and it looked like a little ball of flame. Even from where Shen Lian was at, he could feel waves of warmth.

　　This was a demonic elixir; it might even be a demonic elixir of a demon king who had shapeshifted into a pebble stone, and it could be used to attain the state of Huandan.

　　The atmosphere was tense, and some people were even breathing hard.

　　Even Qing Xuan did not have demonic elixir of this quality in abundance. After all, despite having disciples who were more than capable of slaying a demon king, they would not casually slay demon kings just to help other disciples to attain the state of Huandan. If a great demon was offended by this, he might even come looking for trouble.

　　Even with its long history, Qing Xuan only had six or seven demonic king elixirs. Of course, the quality would be a lot better than what was being put on auction.

　　Even if one took the path of external alchemy with the aid of this demonic elixir, one would be able to attain at most, one Transformation of Huandan. Moreover, one might not even attain the state of Huandan, as the Qi of Essence on it had mostly been lost.

　　In spite of that, most cultivators here would not let go of this opportunity.

　　A big sect like Qing Xuan aside, most non-formal cultivators and small or medium-sized celestial sects did not ask for more than attaining the state of Huandan. After all, attaining this state would extend one’s lifespan to eight hundred over years old. Moreover, they would not be burdened by expectations since it was impossible to improve further anyway, and they could then enjoy the rest of their days.

　　The cultivator in charge of the auction named the starting price as five thousand Yiyuan Elixirs. Moreover, the audience was told that this belonged to Xuantong Demon King, and if anyone was running low on Yiyuan Elixir, they could send their instruments for valuation and procure Yiyuan Elixirs reflecting the value of the items. Though, the Yiyuan Elixirs were not refundable.

　　If it was just any other item, the cultivators would consider their options. However, when being presented with the opportunity to attain the state of Huandan, they were not about to let the chance slip by. Moreover, they did not lose anything by exchanging their items for Yiyuan Elixirs anyway.

　　Shen Lian was impressed by this move.

　　Despite that the auction was organized by the non-formal cultivators on an informal basis, it seemed that the official organizer of the celestial market played a role in this too.

　　The cultivator who was hosting the auction gave everyone some time to change more Yiyuan Elixirs.

　　“Seems like this is the final item, and there’s no reason for us to stay. Shall we leave?” Shen Lian said to Wu Qingzi.

　　Wu Qingzi glanced towards Zhao Xiaoyu’s direction, and he saw that she stood up too. Besides the Fengli Staff, Zhao Xiaoyu did not bid for anything else.

　　Fenghe was curious about the auction of demonic elixir, but she knew that her priority was to serve Shen Lian. She led the way for Shen Lian to descend the Qingyun Stage. Even though Shen Lian did not use the ten thousand pieces of elixirs, but he did not plan to return it. These might come in handy in the future. It would be a hassle to return it and ended up having to procure for more again.

　　“Fenghe, could you find out who was the seller of the Fengli Staff for me?” Shen Lian spoke after descending from the Stage.

　　Fenghe hesitated. After all, they were not supposed to expose the identity of the sellers. However, Shen Lian was an esteemed guest of Xuantong Demon King, and she was instructed to fulfill all of his needs.

　　“I don’t have a say in this, but I can ask the manager for you,” she replied.

　　Zhao Xiaoyu’s voice was heard. It sounded like a clear stream that flowed gently into Shen Lian’s ears. “If you would like to know about the seller of the Fengli Staff, why don’t you ask me about it?” She spoke.

　　Zhao Xiaoyu descended gracefully from the Qingyun Stage. She was as light as the smoke, and her grace was charming. It was as though she was a Yaochi Fairy who had come to the mortal world, and she was a pleasant sight to look at. One could not help but be charmed by her. Her beautiful eyes were not as cold as they once were, and there were hints of gentleness on her unrivaled beautiful face.

　　Only Shen Lian knew that Zhao Xiaoyu was getting closer to being a real deity.

　　Zhao Xiaoyu was a real genius. Shen Lian was aware that without the book of Mastery of Senses, his speed of cultivation would not be able to match that of Chen Jianmei and Zhao Xiaoyu.

　　The saintess of the Nine Lotus Secret Order was constantly improving, and despite that Shen Lian had defeated her once back in the Yue Tuo Kingdom, she was not demotivated by the setback at all.

　　If anything, she got even more motivated and surpassed the initial limit of The Book of Nine Lotus and had found her own path.

　　Shen Lian had put their past behind, and he even harbored admiration for her.

　　“Xiaoyu, it’s been a long time. You look even more attractive now,” Shen Lian said with a smile.

　　Zhao Xiaoyu squinted her beautiful eyes and replied with her gentle voice, “Your words made me happier than before.”

　　“So it seems like the both of you are friends after all. I get along well with Shen, and Xiaoyu is the Fairy that I admire. Why don’t we go get a drink somewhere?” Wu Qingzi spoke.

　　“I don’t mind coming along with Shen, but I don’t want to see you,” Zhao Xiaoyu glanced at Wu Qingzi and replied coldly.

　　“Xiaoyu, why do you hate me so much? I have never offended you. Even if you are not particularly fond of me, I don’t think I deserve your hatred either,” Wu Qingzi replied.

　　“Wu Qingzi, you are from the Taishang Daoist Sect. Your level of cultivation is unpredictable, and you are very close to being the likes of holy deities. With your charm, I wouldn’t even be surprised if you could make the Fairies at Yaochi fall for you with the slightest effort. Why would I hate you?” Zhao Xiaoyu sighed.

　　“Why do you always avoid me then? Could it be that my motive is insincere?” Wu Qingzi spoke.

　　“You want to use me for Taishang Wangqing, and this is not a secret. I know about this. Moreover, for Taishang Wangqing, the root of emotions goes deep. It is unquestionable that you worship me with all your heart. Hence, I don’t hate you for this. However, no further reason is needed for not liking something. Even if you were to expend all of the water in the four oceans for me, I would still remain unmoved. Surely you would understand this,” Zhao Xiaoyu spoke calmly.

　　Shen Lian tuned into their conversation quietly. In this clash of the heart of Dao between them, Wu Qingzi was destined to lose. The reason behind his defeat was his pride – he chose Zhao Xiaoyu.

　　Dao was the only thing that Zhao Xiaoyu cared about, and she was the one who was truly heartless. On the other hand, Wu Qingzi was not as determined as Zhao Xiaoyu. It was no wonder that he had to enter into the secular world.