Ding Fan looked at the girl on stage with her hands in handcuffs, and his heart suddenly trembled. Such a beautiful woman, who else could it be if not Gusu Qingwen?

"Qingwen..."

Ding Fan, full of anxiety and tension, unconsciously shouted the other person's name. He desperately wanted to rush up to save Qingwen immediately. However, Ding Fan had already noticed many powerful formations present in this mansion, and his divine sense also detected many cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage here.

Although Ding Fan could unravel the formations in this mansion, facing all those Nascent Soul stage cultivators simultaneously would not be so easy. After all, he was in someone else's territory, and the auction was hosted not by just one sect but by several sects together.

Therefore, Ding Fan knew that forcibly taking Gusu Qingwen might not be the best choice. Even if he could escape with her, he could not guarantee that she wouldn't get hurt in the process.

For the moment, Ding Fan suppressed his urgency, choosing to hold back. If he could rescue Qingwen through the auction, it would not be impossible.

At this point, Gusu Qingwen was very nervous. Although her cultivation was decent, she couldn't exert any of it now because her cultivation had been sealed by a pill given by the others. She was utterly powerless, unable even to defend herself, let alone the fact that her hands were shackled and she was bound.

Gusu Qingwen looked at the people below with lustful eyes directed at her, feeling terrified. She was deeply concerned about her destiny; if she fell into their hands, she'd rather be dead... Yet she wasn't sure if it was just an illusion; she seemed to have heard Ding Fan calling her name just now.

For Gusu Qingwen, it was like being mired in a swamp, slowly sinking into an endless abyss, only to suddenly hear someone calling to rescue her from the shore. It was the last hope for survival, the final lifeline.

This feeling gave Gusu Qingwen the courage to search the crowd, but the reality was disappointing. Hope was full, yet reality was cruel; she did not find Ding Fan among the people...

"Is it just because I miss Ding Fan too much... Ding Fan, where are you? Why don't you appear..."

Gusu Qingwen spoke inwardly, her longing for Ding Fan overwhelming her heart, but after a moment, she gave up on the thought. The cultivation world was so vast, with so many cultivators, how could Ding Fan be here? Perhaps she would never see him again in this life...

For a moment, Gusu Qingwen's heart was utterly desolate, ready to end her life. Although she might not see Ding Fan again, to her, she was already Ding Fan's woman, and her body belonged only to him; no one else could have it!

Ding Fan, below the stage, noticed Gusu Qingwen's eyes and saw her extremely haggard appearance. She must have suffered a lot, and Ding Fan felt heartache. But why did she seem not to see him? Ding Fan soon remembered that he had taken a Disguise Pill before.

Obviously, his appearance had changed, so naturally, Gusu Qingwen couldn't recognize him.

At this moment, the crowd below saw Gusu Qingwen take the stage, their faces showing expressions of astonishment and awe. They were instantly captivated by her stunning beauty, not expecting to see such a beautiful woman in the world. It was enough to drive them mad.

"Is this Qing Mei? She's incredibly beautiful! Just one look, and I feel it's enough for this lifetime!"

"Qing Mei indeed lives up to her reputation, an absolute beauty. If I could play with her, it would be a year of happiness..."

"Damn, more like half a lifetime wouldn't be a problem..."

"..."

As the people looked at Gusu Qingwen on the stage, their eyes were filled with greed, their hearts restless, and adrenaline surged.

The auctioneer saw the crazy expressions below and the explosive discussions and was equally excited. There was no need to say; it was inevitable that this Qing Mei would fetch a sky-high price!

"Everyone, calm down! I believe many of you are very interested in Qing Mei, right? I'm sure many male cultivators came here for her! Now is your chance; I announce that the starting bid for this female slave is eighteen thousand spirit stones, with each increment not less than a thousand spirit stones! The auction begins now!"

The auctioneer proudly and enticingly announced the starting price for the goddess-like Qing Mei, signaling the start of the auction.

Even the auctioneer and the hosting sects were waiting for Qing Mei to appear, knowing she was the goddess in the hearts of male cultivators within hundreds of kilometers. Surely, she'd fetch a sky-high price.

Therefore, those sects hadn't moved against Gusu Qingwen, instead taking good care of her, expecting to auction her for a high price. Even the sect leaders behind this auction wore expressions of expectation and pride as they watched.

Everyone was curious about what sky-high price Qing Mei would fetch. But they were sure it would be astronomical!

The auctioneer announced the price, and many cultivators below gasped, surprised that Qing Mei's starting bid was already eighteen thousand spirit stones, which was terrifying. Even a medium-sized sect might only earn this much in a year.

The announcement left many with disappointment; faced with such a high price, many male cultivators couldn't accept it. Nevertheless, the competition started immediately, showing that the auction attracted some very wealthy individuals.

To them, a beauty was worth spending even tens of thousands of spirit stones.

"Nineteen thousand spirit stones!"

"Twenty thousand spirit stones!"

"Twenty-five thousand!"

"..."

"Fifty thousand Spirit Stones!"

"Fifty-five thousand Spirit Stones!"

"Sixty thousand Spirit Stones!"

"..."

In just a short while, the bidding price had already reached sixty thousand Spirit Stones, leaving everyone in shock. This price had reached a level that made most of the cultivators present gasp; it's important to know that one Spirit Stone is equivalent to a hundred Gold Coins,

and ten thousand Spirit Stones equates to a million Gold Coins, an astronomical figure for an average cultivator. It's unbelievable that such an amount was being bid for a single female cultivator! Such extravagance seemed utterly wasteful.

Even though everyone was shocked by the price, they found it reasonable, knowing that it was for Qing Mei! She was truly a goddess, an unparalleled beauty in a radius of hundreds of kilometers.

Her stunning looks made her one of the top beauties in the entire Cultivation World. Spending sixty thousand Spirit Stones to win Qing Mei might seem steep, but her value would likely only increase with time, making her a prized possession that could be resold easily.

Her beauty was such that it would outshine others even with age...

At this moment, Ding Fan sat there, looking at Gusu Qingwen on stage. His heart ached with longing, pain, and guilt. Qing Wen shouldn't be treated this way, and it was his fault they came for him; it pained Ding Fan deeply, a tenderness of a hardened man unseen for a long time.

Ever since Ding Fan began cultivating, distracting thoughts had become rare. Besides cultivation, nothing touched his sensitive emotions, but Zhou Ruoran, Ye Ningbing, and Gusu Qingwen always stirred his deepest feelings.

These people were Ding Fan's reverse scale; to touch them was to provoke his wrath to destroy the challenger regardless of the cost!

"Look at that guy, so strange! Since the start of the auction, he's been like a wooden statue, showing no expression, and even when Qing Mei appeared, he remained unmoved, quite amusing..."

"Just a pauper, I bet he's spent all he had to enter the auction, no money left! Clearly a penniless loser!"

"Probably so, I at least spent three thousand Spirit Stones on a female slave to take home for some fun..."

"Yeah, me too! We can't afford Qing Mei, but at least there will be some fun waiting at home... hehe..."

"That broke man can only rely on his five-fingered maiden! Haha..."

"Hahahahaha..."

"..."

For a moment, a few male cultivators near Ding Fan looked at him with disdain, openly mocking him.

Ding Fan didn't pay them any attention; his eyes were solely on Gusu Qingwen on the stage, nothing else mattered...

"One hundred thousand Spirit Stones!"

Suddenly, a somewhat burly middle-aged man shouted an astounding bid for Gusu Qingwen, startling everyone. No one expected the middle-aged man to directly offer a hundred thousand Spirit Stones when the bidding was around sixty thousand, competed for by a few male cultivators.

However, after this lavishly dressed, burly middle-aged man placed his bid, the other bidders went silent, clearly realizing this was beyond the reach of six or seven thousand Spirit Stones. His bid of one hundred thousand Spirit Stones demonstrated his financial power and determination to win Qing Mei.

People realized they stood no chance against the middle-aged man at this price; ten thousand Spirit Stones was already beyond their reach.

"My heavens! A hundred thousand Spirit Stones just like that, incredible!"

"Even some sects can't earn such Spirit Stones in a year, and he bids a hundred thousand at once, so wealthy!"

"Who on earth is that middle-aged man to be so formidable!"

"Who knows! It's simply unbelievable..."