"I heard that the Xuanting Mercenary Corps have captured a live Elemental Spirit. I wonder if it's true."

Outside the Linlang Pavilion auction house in Celestial Feather City, a group of people gathered and speculated:

"Half an hour ago, I saw them dragging a beast vehicle covered with a black cloth into the auction house."

"Judging by the look of their leader, he seemed quite nervous about the things inside. It must be true."

At this moment, someone exclaimed:

"Since the last Demon Forest outbreak, it's been nearly ten years since anyone captured an Elemental Spirit, right?"

"Strictly speaking, it's been eleven years."

Someone asked:

"What do you think the auction price of this Elemental Spirit will be?"

But the people around chuckled and said:

"No matter what price it fetches, it's not something poor folks like us could afford anyway."

Someone else voiced a doubt:

"Why doesn't the Xuanting Mercenary Corps wait two days to advertise and sell it for a higher price?"

"Besides, isn't the church currently holding the Divine Son election in Jialan Imperial Capital? Wouldn't selling it there fetch a sky-high price?"

However, evidently, these bystanders could not answer this question.

At the auction house entrance, someone suddenly shouted:

"Look, isn't that Celestial Feather City's City Lord Huo?"

As they spoke, a dignified middle-aged man, flanked by a group of guards, entered the auction house.

Afterwards, more well-known figures arrived one after another:

"That's Xiao Mo, the Clan Leader of the Xiao Family in Celestial Feather City."

"And there's Duan Chongshan, the Great Elder of the Duan Family."

"This is the Liu Family's Clan Leader."

"It's unexpected to see the City Lord and the three major families all gathered here."

Someone exaggeratedly said:

"It's an Elemental Spirit, after all!"

"They say that forming a Symbiotic Contract with it could double one's lifespan. Who wouldn't be moved?"

At this moment, a woman dressed in a purple gown, with a fairy-like appearance and fair complexion, gracefully approached.

The incomparably beautiful woman drew all the men's greedy gazes on site.

Her breathtaking beauty elicited a chorus of gasps from the crowd.

Someone, fearing to disturb the beauty, barely audibly whispered:

"She's too beautiful."

"Isn't that Linlang Pavilion's Pavilion Master Ling Yuwei?"

"You rarely see her even once a year, but this time she's been alarmed."

"How can there be such a beautiful woman in the world?"

With the woman's glance and smile, some in the crowd unconsciously felt weak in the knees, almost losing their balance.

With the woman's arrival, one could clearly feel the atmosphere reaching a crescendo.

Countless discussions erupted.

Lin Yi stood among the crowd, listening to the chatter, his expression subtle as he observed everything.

Through their conversations, Lin Yi gleaned some information.

Perhaps, Lin Yi was the only one there who could maintain his composure.

Although she was beautiful, to Lin Yi:

Zhang Xinying's intellectual beauty;

Dongfang Jing's icy beauty;

Yu Na's charming beauty;

Or Shangguan Yue's pure beauty, none were much lesser than hers.

For Lin Yi, who was used to seeing beauties.

Indeed, he didn't find this woman's beauty as astonishing as the others did.

Yet, it was precisely this demeanor that made Lin Yi stand out in the crowd.

Of course.

Even so, no one paid any attention to this ordinary-looking, Martial Artist-like Fourth Transformation Grandmaster Swordsman. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

After the woman named Ling Yuwei appeared, more figures, including leaders of various factions, followed.

The last ones to arrive were the key figures from Celestial Feather City's major guilds.

From the Mage Guild, Swordsman Guild, Alchemist Guild, etc.

As the surrounding bystanders said, nearly all the elite clans that could be named in Celestial Feather City came.

Watching these prominent figures arrive one by one, Lin Yi pulled up the task panel, looking at the task:

[Subtask]: Rescue the Elemental Spirit.

Task level: ★★★★

Task requirement: Rescue the captured Elemental Spirit 0/1

Task time limit: 01:57:36

Quest Reward: Mythical Level equipment for the profession ×1, Experience ×3,000,000

Looking at the quest reward, whether it's equipment or not is not important; Lin Yi cares more about those 3 million experience points.

Currently, Lin Yi requires less than 10 million experience points to reach Level 70.

Completing this quest could save Lin Yi a lot of time in leveling up.

If he can break through to Level 70 and reach Saint Level before the Jialan Empire's Divine Son selection, his strength will make a qualitative leap.

As for where to change professions and whether it can be done successfully, it's not Lin Yi's consideration for now.

Lin Yi entered the auction hall only half an hour before the auction started, along with the crowd.

With Lin Yi's Fourth Transformation Grandmaster Swordsman badge, he can just get a ticket for admission.

He often visits auction houses on the Rafam Continent.

However, the auction house here is different from those on the Rafam Continent, which have modern technology 'LCD screens' to display item information.

Players can participate in auctions and offer prices right from their system interface.

But the Nine Nether Continent's auction house is like a huge theater, with thousands of ordinary seats.

Above, there are separate private boxes.

And below, there's a platform set up to display the auction items.

Presumably, the auction method here is the most primitive form of bidding.

Lin Yi casually found a seat in the ordinary seating area and waited for the auction to start.

In this unfamiliar place, regarding the mission of rescuing the Elemental Spirit, Lin Yi chose the most conservative approach, which was to wait and see.

Just then, a conversation between two adventurers next to Lin Yi caught his attention:

"It's said that besides the Elemental Spirit, there's also a Tier Six top-quality Spiritual Artifact being auctioned today, which is why even the Artifact Refining Guild's old relics were alarmed."

"A Tier Six top-quality Spiritual Artifact?"

"*sound of inhaling*"

Another man beside him appeared shocked and said:

"Whom did you hear this from? Why didn't I know about this?"

The man who initially provided this news smirked proudly and said:

"Do you think even if you knew about it, you could afford it?"

The man was left puzzled by the question and subsequently chuckled bitterly:

"True enough."

At this moment, a middle-aged man with graying hair walked briskly from backstage to the front of the auction podium.

This man was Zong Renhai, a renowned auctioneer from Linlang Pavilion in Celestial Feather City, known as Elder Zong.

Then his booming voice resounded in the chaotic venue:

"Everyone, quiet down, the auction is about to begin."

The crowd immediately fell silent.

Zong Renhai stood on the stage, calmly facing the gaze of thousands, and smiled slightly:

"First, I sincerely thank everyone for coming to the Linlang Pavilion's auction in Celestial Feather City."

However, just then, a vigorous voice rang out from one of the upper boxes:

"Enough with the chatter, start already."

Zong Renhai casually glanced towards the box from which the voice emerged, and continued without fuss:

"Very well."

"Let's begin bidding on our first item…"

Meanwhile, a woman dressed in a seductive outfit approached slowly, holding a jade box.

Zong Renhai began the introduction:

"Inside this jade box is a Spiritual Artifact ring obtained by the Xuante Mercenary Corps from an Ancient Ruins."

"Based on its magic amplification, we estimate its quality to be above Tier Five."

Upon hearing this, the crowd erupted in chatter.

Seeing the murmuring people, Zong Renhai's face bore a meaningful smile as he continued:

"But that's not the reason it's our first auction item."

Their attention now shifted to Zong Renhai, as he dropped another 'bombshell':

"Disregarding its level."

"This ring also possesses a long-lost Enchanted Attribute."

"Even without meditation, the wearer can automatically train, absorbing the surrounding Magic Elements."

Upon these words, the entire hall fell into silence!

In the ordinary audience section, countless eyes stared dazedly at the simple ring in the jade box on stage.

Evidently, everyone was deeply shocked by the ring's effect.

Witnessing this scene, Zong Renhai smiled.

Because this was precisely the effect he had hoped for.

As he suddenly shouted:

"Now, the bidding starts at 100,000 gold coins for this Spiritual Artifact ring, please place your bids."

No sooner had he spoken than a clear voice rang out from the ordinary seating area, breaking the silence:

"I bid 1,000,000!"