Seeing the playful curl at the corner of Lu Hong's mouth, Lu Feng's heart burned with rage. He bellowed, "You whore, what's with that look?"

Lu Hong's face turned cold as she retorted, "Watch your mouth."

"You common whore, ridden by thousands! You shameless bitch! So what if this young master insults you?" Lu Feng sneered relentlessly.

THWACK!

Lu Hong struck like lightning, slapping Lu Feng across the face.

He was sent flying, letting out a pathetic howl as he collided with the wall behind him, blood spewing from his mouth.

The group of men in black froze for a moment, then their eyes flashed menacingly as they lunged at Lu Hong.

"Stop!" Qin Dieyi shouted angrily. "This isn't your Lu Family's territory; you can't rampage here! If you dare cause trouble again, don't blame me for having you thrown out!"

The group of men in black stopped in their tracks, looking back at Lu Feng.

Lu Feng climbed up from the ground, his face stinging. He glared at Qin Feiyang, Lu Hong, and Qin Dieyi, fire burning in his eyes.

"We'll see," he spat coldly, then led his group of men in black away, fuming with anger.

"Phew!" Qin Dieyi sighed in relief and turned to Lu Hong. "So it was you, Miss, who beat up Lu Feng last night."

"A spoilt brat like him," Lu Hong laughed, "doesn't quite feel right unless he's given a beating."

Qin Dieyi stifled a laugh. "Miss, you're truly a genuine person, but be careful. Lu Feng is petty and vengeful; he won't let this go."

Lu Hong cupped her hands. "Thank you for the warning, Miss."

Once Qin Dieyi left, Lu Hong turned to Qin Feiyang and whispered, "You don't mind that I took matters into my own hands, do you?"

"Why should I blame you?" Qin Feiyang chuckled lightly. "If it were me, I would've hit him harder."

Lu Hong beamed, her pretty face captivating.

Outside, more and more people entered the auction venue.

An hour passed, and the auction venue was packed to the brim, noisy and bustling.

All the VIP rooms were also occupied by the scions of major clans.

BOOM!

A clear, loud bell rang throughout the auction venue.

Instantly, the venue grew quiet.

A robust elderly man in white, surrounded by ten bodyguards, ascended the auction stage.

Then, the ten bodyguards stationed themselves around the edge of the stage, their sharp gazes scanning the crowd.

The elderly man in white swept his eyes across the crowd and chuckled, "I am Yin Yuanming. Thank you all for gracing the Treasure Pavilion. I hope everyone can participate peacefully in today's auction."

"Steward Yin, you repeat these pleasantries every day. Aren't you tired? Hurry up and get started!" someone from below urged.

"Yeah, who would be foolish enough to cause trouble in the Treasure Pavilion?"

"Of course, it's tiring to say it every day, but it's necessary. It serves as a warning to those who might get out of line," Yin Yuanming replied. "Alright, enough idle chatter. Let's start with a bang."

"Today's first auction item is none other than the highly coveted Top Grade Vermilion Glazed Pill!"

Yin Yuanming waved his hand, and a jade box appeared out of thin air.

As it opened, a vibrant, round, and fiery-red pill immediately came into view.

"Base price is four million gold coins, each bid must increase by no less than one hundred thousand, no maximum limit. Let's begin!" Yin Yuanming announced, explaining only the rules before starting the auction.

"Four million one hundred thousand."

"Four million two hundred thousand."

"Four million three hundred thousand."

The auction room immediately burst with successive bids.

Qin Feiyang and Lu Hong exchanged glances. The base price was already four million? In Yan City, the auction price for a Top Grade Vermilion Glazed Pill was only slightly above four million!

This State City was indeed a haven for the rich!

"We currently have twenty-three Top Grade Vermilion Glazed Pills and sixty-six sets of Vermilion Glazed Pill ingredients," Lu Hong remarked. "Added together, that's a total of eighty-nine. If we auction them, we'll undoubtedly earn several hundred million gold coins."

"The Vermilion Glazed Pill no longer holds much value for us, so we can put them up for auction," Qin Feiyang nodded.

Lu Hong stood up. "I'll make arrangements right away."

Qin Feiyang waved her off, chuckling. "No rush. Let's see what the final price here is first. You can also bid to test the waters."

"Test the waters?" Lu Hong was surprised. She voiced a bid, "Six million."

"Six million five hundred thousand."

Before her voice had died down, a sullen voice from the neighboring VIP room sounded off, raising the bid by five hundred thousand at once!

"I see." Lu Hong's expression shifted to one of sudden realization.

The owner of that voice was none other than Lu Feng. She had initially thought Lu Feng had left the Treasure Pavilion, but he was right next door. So this was the purpose of testing the waters. It appeared Qin Feiyang had anticipated that Lu Feng would hound them to the end today.

Lu Hong let out a quiet sigh. These past two years, she had thought she'd become very clever. But comparing herself to Qin Feiyang now, she realized she was still far from his level. Lu Feng, however, was far too impatient.

Lu Hong asked, "Should we play along?"

Qin Feiyang waved her off. "Don't be hasty." It was easy to mess with Lu Feng, but doing so would artificially inflate the price, making it impossible for them to discern the true value of the Top Grade Vermilion Glazed Pill in the State City. Of course, they could ask Qin Dieyi. But Qin Feiyang only trusted what he heard with his own ears and saw with his own eyes.

"Why did they stop bidding after calling out once?" In the VIP room next door, Lu Feng looked puzzled.

"Young Master, they must be afraid of you," one of the black-clad men flattered.

"Exactly! Look at their shabby appearance; they're clearly not from any prominent family. How could they dare compete with you, Young Master?" another chimed in.

Lu Feng nodded. "Yes, this young master must have scared them off from bidding."

"I need to rest for a while. You all keep a close watch. As soon as they make an offer, immediately raise the price," Lu Feng instructed. "I want them to walk away empty-handed today!" After giving his orders, Lu Feng closed his eyes and began to tend to his injuries.

The black-clad men exchanged looks, their eyes filled with mockery. These two were truly overestimating their abilities, daring to oppose the Young Master. Today would surely end in tragedy for them.

A few hundred breaths passed.

The Top Grade Vermilion Glazed Pill sold for eleven million gold coins.

"That's nearly three times the price in Yan Province!" Lu Hong exclaimed in disbelief.

Qin Feiyang said, "Go find Qin Dieyi. Buy a top-grade elixir; any elixir will do."

"Okay." Lu Hong stood up and walked briskly out of the VIP room.

Not long after, she returned with a jade box in her hands.

Qin Feiyang took the jade box and opened the lid. A healing elixir lay inside. It even had a circle of elixir patterns on it, which was quite noticeable. It looked almost identical to the top-grade healing elixir he had concocted.

Qin Feiyang frowned, asking, "Did you ask who refined this?"

Lu Hong answered, "I did. According to Qin Dieyi, it was made by Lu Xingchen."

"Lu Xingchen?" Qin Feiyang frowned. Why did that name sound so familiar?

Lu Hong continued, "Don't you remember? When we were in Yan City, Ren Wushuang contacted Lu Xingchen."

"So it was him." Qin Feiyang remembered. Ren Wushuang had once cautioned him that Lu Xingchen was not a good person and that he shouldn't get too close to him. However, the fact that this man was a top-grade alchemist was somewhat surprising.

Lu Hong added, "Reportedly, he's also a disciple of the Holy Temple, and his current strength is even greater than Ren Wushuang's."

"Holy Temple!" Qin Feiyang stood up abruptly.

"What's wrong?" Lu Hong was startled by his sudden movement.

Qin Feiyang asked, "Didn't the Prefect mention yesterday that I should report to the Holy Temple today?"

Lu Hong nodded.

"Silly me, I almost forgot about that." Qin Feiyang rubbed his forehead, returned to his chair, and said, "Tell Qin Dieyi to come in quickly."

The Holy Temple was in the central city district. At his current speed, it would probably be dark by the time he got there. He couldn't delay any longer.

"Alright." Lu Hong walked to the door, opened it, and said, "Miss Dieyi, could you please come in?"

Qin Dieyi hurried in, asking, "What can I do for you, Miss?"

Lu Hong said, "We need to hurry to the Holy Temple to report. Could you do us a favor and sell a high-grade Pill Furnace directly to us?"

Qin Dieyi asked in surprise, "Miss, are you a disciple of the Holy Temple?"

Lu Hong laughed. "Not yet."

Qin Dieyi nodded understandingly and added, "However, with your abilities, entering the Holy Temple is almost a certainty. As for the Pill Furnace…"

"Please wait a moment, Miss. I'll ask Steward Yin." After she finished speaking, Qin Dieyi quickly left.

After a while, she entered the auction hall, approached the auction stage, and whispered something into Yin Yuanming's ear.

Yin Yuanming glanced at the VIP room where Qin Feiyang was, thought for a moment, and nodded at Qin Dieyi.

Qin Dieyi immediately turned and briskly descended from the auction stage.

About a hundred breaths later, she returned to the VIP room, smiling. "Steward Yin agrees to sell to you privately, but it must be at the auction transaction price."

"The price is negotiable," Lu Hong chuckled.

Qin Dieyi waved her hand, and a Pill Furnace appeared on the floor with a CLANG.

Qin Feiyang stood up, lowered his head, and carefully examined it.

The Pill Furnace resembled an iron tripod, with handles on both sides and three legs. It was cast from top-grade bronze, its surface carved with mountains and rivers.

Qin Dieyi explained, "This is a Bronze Pill Furnace, a second grade one. The auction price is typically over twenty million gold coins. I'll charge you twenty million, how about that?"

"That expensive?" Lu Hong was shocked. Twenty million for a second-grade Pill Furnace?

Qin Dieyi laughed. "Miss, rest assured. We at the Treasure Pavilion always have clearly marked prices. We would never stoop to taking advantage of you just because we know you're reporting to the Holy Temple."

"Alright, I'll go with you to settle the bill," Lu Hong said, feeling helpless.

Qin Feiyang added, "While you're at it, buy an Image Crystal Stone and a few teleportation doors."

"Okay." Lu Hong nodded and followed Qin Dieyi to the reception hall.

Qin Feiyang also brought the Bronze Pill Furnace into the ancient castle and began to refine Potential Elixirs.

Fatty had prepared twelve sets of ingredients for the Potential Elixir.

Qin Feiyang first familiarized himself with the new Pill Furnace. Soon after, he managed to refine all of them in less than two hundred breaths.

Qin Feiyang used two jade boxes, placing six elixirs in each. One jade box was placed on the altar, and the other he took with him.

After waiting for a while, Lu Hong finally returned and immediately began to complain.

The expenses here were ridiculously high.

The price of an Image Crystal Stone was twice that in Yan City, costing ten million gold coins each.

The teleportation doors were even more outrageous—one hundred million for a single one!

"One hundred million?" Hearing the amount, Qin Feiyang was also dumbfounded.