"Congratulations once again to this young brother, for winning the bid for the Molten Lava Heart Stone!"

When Mei Qian expressed congratulations for the third time, her mood was not as delightful as the first two instances, and she felt a touch of resentment towards that coarse-clothed young man.

If Mei Qian had some goodwill towards Yun Xiao when the Soul Devouring Beast was auctioned, the subsequent two bids had a different kind of complexity involved.

Mei Qian even thought that if this coarse-clothed lad bid, and everyone harbored the same intentions as the Kong brothers and Chu Nian to kill and seize treasures afterward, it would be a disaster for this auction.

After all, killing to seize treasures definitely occurs after the auction ends, and whatever happens then would have nothing to do with Douling Commerce, and they would no longer earn a single gold coin.

If things went on like this, all auction items would only fetch extremely low prices, and all of this was caused by this coarse-clothed boy disrupting the proceedings.

Thus, the people Yun Xiao offended at this moment perhaps not only included the Kong brothers and Chu Nian but also Elder Mei Qian of Douling Commerce, which indeed caught him by surprise.

What others might think, Yun Xiao naturally would not care. This auction brought great joy at the opening, with three out of four items already in his hands, making this trip worthwhile.

"The next item is the fifth auction item, an Earth Rank Middle Level 'Beast Spirit Banner'!"

Mei Qian withdrew her gaze from Yun Xiao, signaling the maid to bring up the fifth tray, directly unveiling it to reveal a multi-colored banner-like cloth.

"Beast Spirit Banner, what's that?"

Even though Mei Qian had already named and graded the item, most people in the hall still looked puzzled, clearly having never heard of the Beast Spirit Banner's name nor understanding its Earth Rank Middle Level function.

"To think it's the Beast Spirit Banner, and it's even at the Eighth Rank Middle Stage, this truly was a worthwhile trip!"

Compared to these ordinary cultivators, Xiao Qiming, a prodigy of the Xiao Family, couldn't take his eyes off the Beast Spirit Banner from the moment he laid eyes on it. As one of the talented few in the Xiao Clan, his knowledge naturally surpassed others.

"As the name suggests, the Beast Spirit Banner, once refined by its master, can continually devour and draw the power of soul from vein demons, ultimately feeding back to its master, enhancing their power of soul to a certain extent!"

Seemingly noticing the puzzled expressions and gazes of everyone present, Mei Qian slightly opened her mouth to simply explain the function of the Beast Spirit Banner, and once her voice fell, the expressions of bewilderment in the hall instantly turned into heated enthusiasm.

Truth be told, the function of the Beast Spirit Banner and the previously acquired Soul Devouring Beast by Yun Xiao shared a similar principle, with one boosting meridian qi cultivation, and the other affecting soul power.

Xiao Qiming's extreme excitement stemmed from his status as a genuine Earth Rank Low Level Meridian Refining Master, owing to his extraordinary soul power, making his thinking speed and method differ greatly from ordinary cultivators.

It could even be said that his powerful soul power is the fundamental reason for his reputation as a prodigy of the Xiao Family. He believed that acquiring the Beast Spirit Banner might lead to another massive surge in soul power, allowing him to unseat his elder brother from the throne as the Xiao Family's top genius.

Xiao Qiming considered himself quite ambitious, so although his elder brother was devoted to cultivation, he viewed him as a mere brawler interested only in fighting, with no comparability to himself whatsoever.

However, Xiao Qiming knew that with his current Early Stage Seeking Origin Realm cultivation, he might not be equal to the top geniuses of first-class forces, hence his urgent desire to enhance his influence, and the Eighth Rank Middle Stage Beast Spirit Banner might just be a perfect opportunity.

Once, in an ancient book, Xiao Qiming read about the description of the Beast Spirit Banner, noted for being incredibly useful to humans yet virtually disastrous to demon beasts.

The Earth Rank Middle Level Beast Spirit Banner could control and extract the power of vein demons at the eighth rank level. While the soul power of vein demons falls short of humans at the same level, the cumulative effect could still significantly enhance a human's soul power.

Ultimately, a human cultivator possessing the Beast Spirit Banner would need to constantly kill vein demons and extract their souls to achieve a drastic increase in their soul power.

The relationship between humans and vein demons, though not great, rarely escalates to large-scale conflicts. The existence of the Beast Spirit Banner might ignite the fuse for enmity between humans and vein demons.

"Who would have thought, on this Tenglong Continent, someone would dare to refine a Beast Spirit Banner, such audacity!"

Unlike Xiao Qiming and the other ordinary cultivators, when Yun Xiao saw the Beast Spirit Banner for the first time, a peak of anger surfaced on his face because such an item, being too damaging to ethics, was long banned during his time in the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, with a prohibition on its refinement by anyone.

On the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, humanity's greatest enemy wasn't the vein demons, but the pervasive strange spirits, and sometimes, human powerhouses would even team up with vein demon powerhouses to tackle some extremely malicious strange spirits.

There was once, in Yun Xiao's previous life on the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, where he witnessed a Holy Rank Third Realm Meridian Refining Master wielding a holy-grade Beast Spirit Banner slaughtering vein demons, almost sparking a war between vein demons and humans.

Ultimately, the Long Xiao Battle God personally stepped forward and crippled the cultivation of that Holy Rank Third Realm powerhouse, and in front of countless Vein Demon powerhouses, destroyed the Holy-grade Beast Spirit Banner, henceforth issuing a strict order that no one was allowed to refine Beast Spirit Banners arbitrarily, or they would face execution without mercy.

However, Yun Xiao's philosophies from his past life as the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud seemed somewhat unsuitable on this Tenglong Continent. Firstly, the stern order he once issued did not exist here; secondly, the Vein Demons on the Tenglong Continent had not yet transformed into human form, and in the eyes of the noble human powerhouses, Vein Demons naturally ranked a level inferior.

After all, humans and Vein Demons were ultimately different. Cultivators who reached beyond the Spirit Vein Realm would search for some strong Vein Demons to refine into their own Meridian Spirits.

Yun Xiao could accept such things, but for a high-level Meridian Refining Master to use the Beast Spirit Banner to enhance their soul power, they would need to hunt and kill thousands of Vein Demons. The possible outcome of such mass slaughter was something even he dared not contemplate.

"However, if this Beast Spirit Banner is improved, it could have some other effects. It's better to first take it in hand!"

When Yun Xiao thought of another possibility, his mood calmed down. The Beast Spirit Banner might just be a tool for hunting Vein Demons and capturing souls in others' hands, but in his, it could serve a very different purpose.

"The auction for the Earth Rank Middle Level Beast Spirit Banner starts at one million gold coins, with a minimum increment of one hundred thousand. The bidding begins now!"

Mei Qian, however, didn't have so many thoughts. As soon as her voice fell, the competition for the fifth item began. Who would ultimately obtain the Beast Spirit Banner with wondrous effects remained unknown.

"One million one hundred thousand!"

"One million three hundred thousand!"

"One million five hundred thousand!"

"One million eight hundred thousand!"

"..."

There were indeed quite a few high-level Meridian Refining Masters attending the auction, and even some Earth Rank Low Level Meridian Refining Masters like Xiao Qiming were participating. It seemed they'd realized the true effect of the Beast Spirit Banner. If they managed to acquire it, it would surely be a treasure to substantially enhance soul power.

Just moments later, the Beast Spirit Banner, with a starting price of one million gold coins, had soared to two million, with no sign of slowing down.

It's worth mentioning that some non-Meridian Refining Master cultivators also joined the bidding. After all, even if they weren't Meridian Refining Masters, their families surely had some.

Taking a step back, if they could win the Beast Spirit Banner and exchange it with high-level Meridian Refining Masters for something useful to themselves, why not?

In contrast, the Kong Family brothers and Chu Family's Chu Nian didn't participate in the bidding. Their gazes unintentionally wandered over Xiao Qiming, knowing that an item like the Beast Spirit Banner might be more useful to this Earth Rank Middle Level Meridian Refining Master genius of the Xiao Family.

"Three million!"

After a brief round of bidding, Xiao Qiming finally spoke up, directly raising the Beast Spirit Banner's price to three million.

"Three million one hundred thousand!"

"Three million two hundred thousand!"

The scattered bidding voices continued, but in the next moment, they were overshadowed by Xiao Qiming's assertive bid of "four million." Only then did the fervor for the Beast Spirit Banner slightly diminish for the first time.

Apart from the astronomical eight hundred thousand gold coins for the second item, the Soul Devouring Beast, this might be the most expected auction yet. In Mei Qian's heart, the ideal final price for the Beast Spirit Banner was between four million to five million gold coins.

However, as everyone sensed the sudden quietude in the hall, they unexpectedly turned their attention, including Mei Qian, to a certain spot, where a young man in coarse clothing was seated.

Because everyone suddenly remembered that the objects of interest to the Kong Family brothers and Chu Family's Chu Nian were seemingly all snatched by this coarse-clothed youngster before, weren't they?

Given that, would the young man also be interested in the Beast Spirit Banner favored by Xiao Qiming? If so, this auction would undoubtedly become even more exciting!

Just as everyone's gaze shifted over, a voice rang out from the coarse-clothed youngster's mouth, making the entire hall fall silent for a moment!

"Four million one hundred thousand!"