For a moment, everyone was shocked by the middle-aged man's bid, and they began to discuss and speculate about his identity.

The host was thrilled to see this. He hadn't expected someone to suddenly offer a hundred thousand spirit stones, which was incredibly exciting. The host couldn't help but display a very satisfied smile. This price was absolutely astronomical, and he assumed it would be the final price, as few would be able to spend a hundred thousand spirit stones to purchase a female slave.

The crowd sighed in admiration, clearly envious, as it seemed the beautiful Qing Mei was about to belong to someone else. After all, not many could offer a hundred thousand spirit stones.

Gusu Qingwen watched the scene, her eyes filled with disgust as she glanced at the middle-aged man leering at her. Her heart was filled with revulsion, but Gusu Qingwen's gaze remained indifferent. She had no interest in who would purchase her, as she had already prepared to end her life.

In fact, Gusu Qingwen had long been ready to bite her tongue and end her life, but she had just heard someone calling her name, Ding Fan. This gave her a sliver of hope. If she died, she'd never see Ding Fan again. What if Ding Fan came to rescue her?

Gusu Qingwen knew it was just her illusion. The chance of Ding Fan appearing was probably less than one in ten thousand, but she couldn't let go of Ding Fan. She would only commit suicide when there was no other option, so she could die without regrets.

The crowd was abuzz with discussion, and the auction had reached its climax. The host looked around at everyone. It seemed there would be no further bids. After all, this was a hundred thousand spirit stones; surely no one else could offer more.

The host, a middle-aged man, was clearly satisfied, judging by his beaming smile. This price was already a fortune. He began the countdown:

"One hundred thousand spirit stones, going once!"

"One hundred thousand spirit stones, going twice!"

...

"One hundred thousand spirit stones..."

"Two hundred thousand spirit stones!"

Just as the host was about to end the countdown and announce the final sale, a calm bid rang out among the crowd. But this bid caused a stir, as it was two hundred thousand spirit stones!

The crowd turned to look where the bid came from, focusing on a young man sitting there with a calm expression, even a hint of sadness.

Who else could the young man be but Ding Fan?

At this moment, those around Ding Fan were completely shocked. They hadn't expected the seemingly disinterested man, who looked a bit dejected, to suddenly bid two hundred thousand spirit stones.

This was hard to believe! Everyone turned to Ding Fan with surprised and somewhat doubtful eyes. In their minds, Ding Fan was just a young man who might have been given some money by his family to indulge himself, but who would give away twenty thousand spirit stones at once? It seemed impossible!

The middle-aged man who had previously bid a hundred thousand spirit stones angrily looked at Ding Fan, his eyes full of shock. He couldn't believe that a young man, seemingly in his early twenties, would just outbid him with two hundred thousand spirit stones, doubling his bid. It was beyond comprehension!

The host, also a middle-aged man, was stunned as he looked at Ding Fan. After seeing how young Ding Fan was, his eyes filled with skepticism. Could this mere boy really produce two hundred thousand spirit stones?

Upon hearing Ding Fan's voice, Gusu Qingwen was the most shocked on stage. Although Ding Fan's appearance had temporarily changed due to the Disguise Pill, his voice remained the same. Gusu Qingwen immediately recognized it, which made her heart jolt.

She initially thought she'd misheard—that it was impossible to hear Ding Fan's voice here. Yet now the voice rang out again. But when Gusu Qingwen looked at Ding Fan with a complex array of emotions, her eyes dimmed.

The person couldn't possibly be Ding Fan; it was merely someone whose voice happened to resemble his...

In an instant, the hope in Gusu Qingwen's heart was extinguished again. Her face turned pale, and her clear, lake-like eyes lost their luster.

"Just because you say you have two hundred thousand, it doesn't mean you do! This isn't the place for boasting, kid. There will be severe consequences if you can't pay up!"

The young boy, wearing luxurious brocade and with a somewhat muscular build, who had previously bid a hundred thousand, stood up and glared at Ding Fan with hostility.

"Haha, if this kid has two hundred thousand spirit stones, then I'm a millionaire!"

"The guy doesn't appear to have two hundred thousand spirit stones. He's too young; he's probably just bluffing..."

"Bragging here, he truly doesn't know how dangerous this is!"

"..."

Upon hearing the words of the muscular middle-aged man, everyone started discussing, clearly filled with disdain for Ding Fan. Previously, in everyone's eyes, Ding Fan was just a country bumpkin, but now it seemed he was merely a boastful braggart, which was both infuriating and pitiable. After all, this was an auction held by several nearby sects, and falsely inflating competition prices here was likely to have serious consequences…

The host, upon hearing the crowd's chatter, also looked with suspicion at Ding Fan, not optimistic about him either. If Ding Fan was indeed falsely inflating the price, he probably wouldn't leave here alive. The middle-aged host hesitated slightly but eventually said:

"Very well, the auction continues. Now this gentleman has offered two hundred thousand Spirit Stones, is there any higher offer?"

As the host spoke, he couldn't help but glance at the muscular middle-aged man. The host knew that although it was highly likely the young man was lying about the price, what if he really could produce these Spirit Stones?

Clearly, if he could really produce the two hundred thousand Spirit Stones, his identity was likely not simple, definitely from a truly prominent family. If he offended such a person, it would certainly be a loss. Therefore, the auction had to continue.

Even if he couldn't produce the two hundred thousand Spirit Stones in the end, the auction would suffer no loss. After all, Qing Mei was there on display, and such an extraordinary beauty surely wouldn't worry about not being sold. The bidding would only drive the price higher!

At this moment, upon hearing the host's words, everyone was taken aback, not expecting the auction to continue under such circumstances.

"Doesn't the host realize that guy is lying about the price? That's two hundred thousand Spirit Stones! Can a boy like that casually take out so many?"

"Exactly, even the largest family around here can't casually produce two hundred thousand Spirit Stones!"

"Ah... let's not be more anxious than the parties involved. The host must have his motives, so let's not overthink it!"

"Yes, but that boy is in trouble. If the host had stopped him earlier, he might have had a chance to survive. But now, it seems unlikely..."

"Haha, there's nothing that can be done. This is the consequence of bragging!"

"..."

The crowd discussed intensely for a while, then shifted their gaze back to the beauty on stage. After all, after today, it would not be easy to catch another glimpse of her, leaving one to wonder who would win her over...

Meanwhile, Ding Fan remained calmly seated, his eyes intensely fixed on Qing Wen on the stage, a longing in his heart he could not hide. As for other voices, Ding Fan chose to ignore them altogether.

At this moment, Qingwen inadvertently glanced at Ding Fan twice, noticing that his eyes were always focused on her. This was nothing unusual compared to other cultivators, but there was something different; his eyes didn't have the lecherous look others had but were instead pure and eager, making Qingwen feel a tinge of peculiarity.

Though both his voice and gaze remarkably resembled Ding Fan's, reality was reality, and he was not Ding Fan...

At this moment, the muscular middle-aged man heard the host's words and felt a hundred horses of rage galloping through his mind. He was infuriated, knowing clearly that the young man couldn't possibly produce such a large sum of Spirit Stones, yet the bidding continued. Wasn't this a trick to rob him of his money?

However, there was nothing the middle-aged man could do. Staring at the beauty on stage, his heart was filled with excitement. She was simply too beautiful, and it would be such a shame not to have her. Thus, the muscular man gritted his teeth and made another bid:

"Two hundred and ten thousand Spirit Stones!"

The crowd was shocked upon hearing the muscular man's bid, not expecting him to continue competing. After all, that was over two hundred thousand Spirit Stones, not just ten thousand; it was simply unbelievable.

While the crowd was still in shock, something even more astonishing and unbelievable happened. Ding Fan made another bid:

"Three hundred thousand Spirit Stones!"

Wow…

Ding Fan's bid brought the price up to three hundred thousand Spirit Stones, an incredibly high, almost dreamlike price that was hard to comprehend. But to Ding Fan, it was nothing. Not thirty thousand but even three million or thirty million Spirit Stones would not be much to him.

After all, Ding Fan, excluding what he'd given to the Dayang Sect before, still possessed nearly fifty to sixty million Spirit Stones. Such wealth was unimaginable at an auction, enough to buy out several of the sects hosting the event.

At this point, Ding Fan was undoubtedly a top-tier tycoon. It's essential to remember that he had cleared out all the Spirit Stones from a Spirit Stone Mine owned by the Wild Wolf Gang, and the stones he now possessed weren't much less than those of the truly great sects or families. Moreover, as a Grade Nine Alchemist, he could casually draw out a few Supreme Quality Medicine Pills, each worth several million Spirit Stones!

Therefore, the mere thirty thousand Spirit Stones were utterly insignificant to Ding Fan.

But at this moment, everyone at the auction was no longer calm. To them, three hundred thousand Spirit Stones was a shocking amount, a sum most of them would never see in their lifetimes!