The moment Bai Xin Yue's voice, cold and absolute, echoed through the silent hall, the atmosphere in The Nexus, already thick with tension, solidified into something sharp and dangerous. The remaining two Soul-Devouring Brothers, Tu and Sha, who were still reeling from the incomprehensible death of their sibling, snapped their heads towards her. Their initial terror was instantly consumed by a wave of desperate, cornered-animal rage.
"You!" Tu hissed, his gaunt face twisting into a mask of fury. "You think you can challenge us? You think you can stop us from taking our prize?"
"Our brother is gone," Sha added, his voice a chilling echo of his twin's. "We will refine your soul for ten thousand years to pay for this insult!"
The other villains in the room reacted in their own ways. Boss Jin, the corpulent merchant, subtly began to retreat towards the door, his greedy nature completely overridden by a healthy sense of self-preservation. The Silent Shadow, the veiled assassin, simply melted deeper into the darkness of her corner, becoming an observer, her professional curiosity piqued.
Alchemist Jiao, however, saw a glimmer of hope. His despair turned into a feverish, desperate excitement. If this powerful woman could defeat the brothers, perhaps he still had a chance to claim the Heart of the Golem.
Bai Xin Yue ignored them all. Her cold, indifferent gaze was fixed solely on the two remaining brothers. They were the next targets on her list, a significant source of power she needed to absorb. The auction had merely been a convenient gathering place.
"Your chattering is tiresome," she said, her voice devoid of emotion. She raised a hand, and the dark, starlight-infused energy of the Nether Empress began to coalesce around her.
Before she could unleash her attack, Ao Xian, still standing on the platform, cleared his throat. It was not a loud sound, but it carried an authority that made the very laws of reality pause.
"My apologies, Lady Yue," he said with a polite, but unyielding, smile. "But there are rules in my establishment. Bidding is done with treasures and promises, not with threats and violence. If you wish to claim the Heart of the G-… you know what? This is far more interesting." He waved a dismissive hand. "Forget the auction. Let's call this a duel for the prize. The winner takes the Heart. The losers," he paused, his smile widening, "become part of the payment."
He snapped his fingers.
Instantly, the elegant hall of The Nexus dissolved. The guests found themselves standing not in a luxurious pavilion, but on a vast, floating platform of polished obsidian, surrounded by a swirling, star-filled void. They were in a pocket dimension, a personal stage created by Ao Xian with a single thought.
"Now," Ao Xian said, his voice echoing from a newly materialized throne high above the platform, where he sat with his maids in attendance. "You may begin."
The two brothers, seeing their chance, did not hesitate. They moved in perfect unison, their hands weaving complex, identical seals. "You have brought your own doom!" they shrieked as one. "Dual-Soul Devouring Formation!"
A wave of black, spectral energy erupted from their bodies, twisting together to form a massive, two-headed ghost that roared with the agony of a thousand consumed souls. It was a debased, stolen version of a far more profound technique, a fact that did not go unnoticed.
In the celestial city, Granny Jiu, the Soul-Ender, who had been observing the auction with mild interest, let out a disgusted snort. "Hmph, those little thieves. They stole the outer shell of the Soul-Weaving Art from a branch family disciple my third junior-sister exiled a hundred thousand years ago. Look at how crudely they use it. It's like watching a child try to paint a masterpiece with mud."
Ao Luan, the celestial scholar, nodded eagerly, taking notes on a glowing scroll. "The energy leakage is over seventy percent, and the soul resonance is completely unstable. A fascinating example of failed cultivation transference. Cousin Xian'er's little plays are so educational!"
On the obsidian stage, the two-headed ghost lunged at Bai Xin Yue. Chen Fei, watching from the edge of the platform, felt a surge of his old, heroic instinct. This was a demonic art of the highest order. He had to help! He took a step forward, his hand gripping his sword.
"Stay put," Bai Xin Yue commanded without even looking at him, her voice a whip-crack that froze him in place.
She faced the monstrous apparition, her expression one of utter contempt. "A parlor trick," she scoffed. She did not create a shield or a vortex. She simply met the attack head-on, her body enveloped in a swirling mist of dark starlight. The two-headed ghost slammed into her, its spectral claws and teeth tearing at the mist. But instead of harming her, the ghost itself began to dissolve, its resentful energy being passively consumed and purified by the higher-order power of the Nether Empress.
The two brothers stared in horror, feeling their connection to their ultimate technique being severed and devoured. "Impossible! What are you?!"
"Your end," Bai Xin Yue replied, her voice a chilling whisper. She raised her hand, and the shimmering black pearls of her Nether Empress's Thousand Sorrows technique materialized around her. But this time, they were different. Infused with the power she had absorbed from the three gang leaders, the pearls now had a faint, crimson core, and they pulsed with a far more potent, soul-shattering despair.
She unleashed the attack. The pearls shot forward, easily bypassing the brothers' frantic defenses. The moment the pearls touched them, Tu and Sha froze, their eyes widening in a shared, ultimate horror. They were not just reliving their past sins; they were experiencing the collective agony of every soul they had ever devoured, a karmic debt come to call with an interest rate that annihilated the soul. Their bodies remained standing for a long, silent moment before crumbling into dust, leaving behind only two pulsating, dark cores of refined soul energy.
Bai Xin Yue waved a hand, and the two cores, along with the Heart of the Golem from the pedestal, flew into her grasp. The battle was over. It had been swift, brutal, and absolute.
The pocket dimension dissolved, and they were all back in the serene, undamaged hall of The Nexus. The other villains stared at Bai Xin Yue with a new, profound terror.
Ao Xian descended from his throne, clapping softly. "A wonderful performance. Truly," he said, his smile as pleasant as ever. "As the winner, the Heart of the Golem is, of course, yours." He then turned his gaze to the terrified Alchemist Jiao. "It seems you did not win the prize, Master Alchemist. Therefore, your bid of service is not required."
Alchemist Jiao let out a shaky breath of relief, but Ao Xian wasn't finished.
"However," Ao Xian continued, his tone thoughtful, "one cannot help but notice the situation. Here we have a peerless expert, Lady Yue, in possession of two supremely powerful soul cores and the legendary Heart of the Golem. And here we have the realm's foremost expert on soul-crafting and puppet-making, who desperately needs a patron." He gestured between them. "It seems like a partnership destined by the heavens, don't you think? A suggestion, merely. Lady Yue could certainly use a skilled craftsman to make the most of her new... assets. Perhaps a bodyguard, to help her look after her clumsy... junior."
The implication was not lost on anyone. It was a suggestion delivered with the weight of a divine decree. Alchemist Jiao looked at the soul cores in Bai Xin Yue's hand, his obsessive genius overriding his fear. To work with such pure, powerful materials... it was the opportunity of a lifetime. He then looked at Ao Xian, the unfathomable being who had orchestrated this entire play, and he knew that refusing was not an option. This was not a command, but it was also not a choice.
He bowed deeply, first to Ao Xian, then to a stunned Bai Xin Yue. "Lady Yue," he said, his voice filled with a new, fervent purpose. "My skills are at your disposal. I will forge you a guardian the likes of which this realm has never seen."
Ao Xian gave a final, satisfied nod. "Excellent. The stage is set for a much more interesting act." He looked at Bai Xin Yue, his smile holding a thousand hidden meanings. "A pleasure doing business with you."