In any grand auction, the opening item is a statement piece—meant to ignite the atmosphere—and the finale is the climactic showstopper. At the Heaven Dao Pavilion's annual Treasure Auction, the first featured item was covered not by common cloth but by a magic artifact–grade brocade. No one expected the opening item to be that precious.
But no one was more shocked than Fang Han.
He stared at the towering egg beneath the brocade. It was identical—down to every faint pattern—to the mysterious egg he himself possessed. Even Yan, who had lived through ancient eras, had been unable to identify what ancient beast it belonged to. And yet the life force sealed within it was so terrifying that even Yan had been shaken.
Fang Han's own egg was wrapped in dense demonic runes—seals not from Seven-leaf Demon Lord but from some ancient demon god who had clearly been trying to incubate it. Without those seals, the raw life force alone would have been overwhelming.
"What exactly is this egg…?" Fang Han thought. He had never planned to buy it, yet curiosity relentlessly tugged at him. Even Lianyun, the golden core expert seated beside him, watched the stage with sharpened eyes.
A flash of crimson light landed on the auction platform. A tall man in a blazing red robe appeared, his hands glowing with the color of molten copper—Red-Hand Immortal, a Golden Core powerhouse.
"Red-Hand Immortal? When did he join the Heaven Dao Pavilion?" Piaoyun whispered.
Fang Han searched his memory. Red-Hand Immortal was a famed wandering cultivator who had formed his golden core decades ago, a name even referenced in The Allworld Compendium written sixty years prior. Clearly, he had been recruited recently.
The auction hall fell silent as Red-Hand Immortal grasped the brocade and lifted it.
A violent wave of vitality exploded outward.
For a split second Fang Han's spirit vision saw a colossal ancient beast towering over him—straddling heaven and earth—its pressure smothering. His breath caught. Such horrifying life force… If his own egg weren't sealed by demonic talismans, it would be even more terrifying than this.
Gasps erupted across the hall.
"What immense life!"
"This egg… even dragon eggs may not be this strong!"
"Please, have you even seen a true dragon egg? Flood dragons maybe, but real celestial dragons are extinct."
"Not entirely. I visited the Taiyi Sect—rumor says they have an ancient dragon egg that's close to hatching!"
"Linglong Blessed Land has a phoenix egg. Some say they even have a living primordial phoenix!"
"A primordial phoenix would be equivalent to a Longevity Realm overlord!"
Speculations rippled like waves. Powerful divine senses in the VIP rooms quietly exchanged thoughts, all locked onto the egg.
Red-Hand Immortal finally spoke, voice steady yet carrying faint admiration.
"Everyone must be curious. This is the egg of a Primordial Kunpeng."
The hall exploded.
"A Kunpeng!? The legendary sacred beast that can become a fish or a bird?"
"When in fish form, its body is like a continent. When in bird form, one flap of its wings spans ninety thousand miles!"
"Ancient cultivators built palaces on the back of Kunpengs to roam the cosmic void!"
"Stronger than dragons—by far!"
"But how could such a thing appear for auction? Impossible! Any Longevity realm master would keep it!"
"Not necessarily. Kunpengs are nearly impossible to hatch. Even if you succeed, the newborn is weak for tens of thousands of years. The cost of feeding it could bankrupt a sect."
Fang Han nodded inwardly. He understood full well—this egg was a treasure, but nurturing a Kunpeng to maturity was effectively impossible. It required time longer than most cultivate lifetimes, not to mention astronomical resources.
Still, even unhatched, the egg was priceless. Its life force alone made it a top-tier material for forging treasures or refining ancient elixirs.
Red-Hand Immortal continued, "This egg was found on a distant star during a battle between a great cultivator and several demon gods. Three Kunpeng eggs were discovered. One was seized by that great cultivator and traded to us. The other two fell into the hands of demon gods. This egg cannot be hatched, but its vitality makes it a rare ingredient for ancient pill refinement or treasure forging."
Fang Han's eyes narrowed. Three Kunpeng eggs… There was a good chance the one in his Huang Quan Diagram was one of the other two.
"The starting price is thirty million White Yang Pills. Each raise must be at least one million!"
Instantly, silence. Thirty million was enough to buy a mid-tier sect.
The bidding began.
"Thirty-one million," called the Sun–Moon Sword Sect elder who had tried to buy Fang Han's pills earlier.
"Thirty-five million!" A burly golden core expert.
"Thirty-six million," said the eerie black-robed man with the demonic aura—the one who resembled a Heavenly Demon King.
Then—
"Forty million."
A clear, youthful voice came from the northern VIP room: a boy of thirteen or fourteen in pure white robes, ethereal and serene, his presence like the distilled essence of the world itself.
"That's Meng Shaobai," Lianyun said, startled. "The prodigy of Yuhua Sect. He must've broken through Golden Core—and beyond. His aura… he may have stepped into the Eighth Layer, Wind-Fire Tribulation!"
Fang Han's eyebrows rose. So he's Meng Shaobai. But where does he get such wealth? Forty million…
"Forty-one million."
Another VIP room joined in.
Meng Shaobai replied instantly—
"Forty-five million."
People exchanged silent shock. His tone was as calm as if he were buying vegetables, not spending a fortune.
"Forty-six million," Lianyun added lightly, testing the waters.
"Fifty million," Meng Shaobai said without hesitation.
The auction hall went dead quiet.
And that was the end of it. No one challenged him. The Kunpeng egg was his.
Fang Han chuckled inwardly. He must have encountered a great ancient fortune—much like Hua Tiandu. But no matter how vast his wealth, it will eventually run dry. Unlike me—whose resources grow every single day.
The first showstopper of the auction was gone. The next item rolled in: nine towering gourds filled with Nine Yang Sacred Water—precious, but not rare among major sects.
Fang Han casually outbid the others and bought the entire set for two million pills.
Meng Shaobai didn't even bother competing.
As soon as Fang Han obtained the sacred water, he tossed it into the Huang Quan Diagram, letting Yan devour it. Brilliant yellow light rippled across Yan's form as his injuries healed completely and his strength rose slightly—though not enough to break through.
"It's too little," Yan said regretfully. "For me to advance, I need the pure Yang power of a whole lake of Nine Yang Sacred Water. If that absolute-grade pure Yang treasure appears—its stored yang essence should be enough."
And the auction was far from over.