"Master, you seem troubled. What happened?" Tihun opened her eyes and asked.

"Tihun, keep an eye on those six people in that room. It would be best if you could find a way to investigate their identities and their purpose here," Han Li said via voice transmission.

Although Tihun didn't understand Han Li's intentions, she nodded and began to pay close attention to the room.

Just then, the door to the room opened, and a female Taoist dressed in a green robe walked in, accompanied by Lan Mei.

This female Taoist was actually a Grand Luo cultivator. She looked quite young, with rosy cheeks like a lotus flower. A fragrance filled the air as she walked, suggesting she wasn't a human cultivator but a transformed plant spirit.

"Greetings, Daoist Shi. I am a deacon elder of the Sun Moon Pavilion. You can call me Fairy Lotus," the female Taoist said, glancing at the nearby Thunderclap Stones. Her eyes lit up slightly, but she quickly retracted her gaze and smiled at Han Li.

"Fairy Lotus is too kind. Can the Sun Moon Pavilion handle these Thunderclap Stones?" Han Li asked with a faint nod.

"Daoist Shi is joking. Not to mention these dozen Thunderclap Stones, even thousands or tens of thousands would be accepted by my Sun Moon Pavilion," Fairy Lotus said with a light smile, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"The Sun Moon Pavilion truly has a deep foundation. In that case, please estimate a price, Fairy Lotus," Han Li said, raising his eyebrows and smiling.

Fairy Lotus's gaze swept over the dozen Thunderclap Stones before quickly retracting it.

"Daoist Shi, these dozen Thunderclap Stones are of extraordinary quality and considerable weight. How about this: each Thunderclap Stone will be priced at 1.5 million immortal essence stones. You have thirteen here, totaling 19.5 million immortal essence stones. Let's round it up to an even 20 million immortal essence stones, how does that sound?" Fairy Lotus said with a radiant smile after taking inventory.

Han Li had already inquired about the price of Thunderclap Stones and originally thought he would be lucky to sell them for 15 million. Now that he was getting 20 million immortal essence stones, he naturally had no objections.

"Fairy Lotus is straightforward in business. Shi still has some materials to sell," Han Li said, waving his hand and taking out a pile of materials. These were some of the items left over from cleaning out the Flower Branch space that were difficult to sell.

He had tried selling these things in the Reincarnation Palace, but hadn't sold much over the years, so he decided to dispose of them all at once today.

"Daoist Shi, these items are quite miscellaneous, but there are a few rather good ones among them. How about I take them all for 4 million immortal essence stones?" Fairy Lotus said after a quick glance.

Han Li didn't haggle and nodded.

Perhaps he was taking a small loss, but being able to get rid of them all at once saved him some trouble.

After the transaction, Han Li had an additional 24 million immortal essence stones on him, almost earning back what he had just spent. His mood improved greatly.

After completing the transaction, Fairy Lotus didn't stay any longer and quickly bid farewell with Lan Mei.

"Master," Tihun immediately said to Han Li as soon as the two left.

"Did you find anything?" Han Li asked via voice transmission.

"Those people haven't been talking during this time. I haven't been able to gather any information, but I have figured out the identity of one of those six people. You know him as well," Tihun said.

"Oh? Who is it?" Han Li asked.

"It's Lan Yan, who we encountered in the Years Immortal Palace," Tihun replied.

"Lan Yan? Are you sure?" Han Li was taken aback and immediately pressed.

"I'm certain. I was only focused on investigating the soul fluctuations of the person bidding earlier, and didn't pay attention to the others. I just carefully investigated the other five people, and the soul fluctuations of one of them are definitely Lan Yan without a doubt," Tihun said with certainty.

Han Li knew that Tihun's soul perception was extremely sensitive and wouldn't make a mistake, so he slowly nodded.

Lan Yan was from the Nine Yuan Sect. The other five were likely also under the Nine Yuan Sect's command. But what were Lan Yan and the others doing here?

"Continue to investigate those people's movements. Let me know immediately if you find anything," Han Li said after a moment of silence, instructing Tihun.

"Don't worry, Master. The restrictions in their room can't block my perception," Tihun assured him.

Han Li left those people to Tihun and continued to watch the auction below.

Time flew by quickly, and the auction passed another dozen rounds.

"The next treasure is a core from a Taiyi Zenith Heaven Three-legged Golden Crow, containing endless fire power. It can be used to refine immortal artifacts or to extract fire essence for cultivation. The starting price for this treasure is 3 million immortal essence stones, with each bid increasing by no less than 100,000," the fat old man announced another auction item, a golden-red beast core the size of a bowl, radiating a sun-like dazzling light.

Han Li's eyes lit up. This was the very thing he had been eyeing to buy for Jing Yan Boy to recover.

Although this Three-legged Golden Crow beast core was also considered a treasure, it was much inferior and more ordinary compared to the other treasures. Therefore, almost no one from the VIP seats made a move. Most of the people participating in the bidding were from the main hall below.

Han Li slightly raised the price and suppressed those below, buying the item for 5 million immortal essence stones and throwing it into the Flower Branch space.

Jing Yan Boy's body flickered with fire, transforming into the form of a Jing Yan Firebird. He swallowed the beast core in one gulp, cried out a few times, and flew deep into the Flower Branch space to refine the beast core.

At this moment, the next auction item was placed on the auction stage: a long, narrow black jade box, covered with talismans and sealed extremely tightly. However, a cold ghostly energy still permeated from the jade box.

Han Li's gaze narrowed, and he sat up slightly. Tihun beside him also showed a look of surprise, looking at the jade box on the stage.

The fat old man chanted incantations and used a hand seal to break the seal on the jade box, revealing a black short flute inside. The thickness of the short flute was not very uniform. It seemed to be made from a section of leg bone, and one end had a skull, making it look extremely evil.

A powerful cold ghostly energy erupted from it, mixed with wailing sounds. Listening to it caused one to feel as if a saw was tearing and grinding in their ears and minds, cutting their soul, making it almost unbearable to the point of vomiting blood.

The fat old man quickly waved his sleeve, and a white light rose on the auction stage, forming a white light screen to cover the black short flute. Only then did the people below feel better.

"The next treasure is called the Soul-Scattering Ghost Flute. It is also a ghost path treasure, a fourth-grade immortal artifact personally refined by Nili Shangren, the founder of the Myriad Ghost Sect in the Underworld Sea Immortal Domain. However, in the battle of the Netherworld Sea, Nili Shangren was defeated by Murong Xianzi of the Taibai Sword Sect, and the Soul-Scattering Ghost Flute was also damaged, falling to the fifth grade. However, its power still far exceeds that of ordinary fifth-grade immortal artifacts. As everyone just saw, the power of this flute is too strong, and its main effect is to attack the soul, so it is not suitable to demonstrate on the spot. Let's begin the auction. The starting price is 10 million immortal essence stones, with each bid increasing by no less than 500,000," the fat old man introduced the black short flute, then announced the start of the auction.

Han Li's heart was first filled with joy, but then he frowned.

This black short flute was the second immortal artifact that Tihun valued. However, the jade slip only said that the black short flute was an immortal artifact that attacked the soul. He didn't expect it to have such a great background and to have previously been a fourth-grade immortal artifact.

In that case, the price of this treasure would probably be much more expensive than the Netherworld Ghost Claw. Although he now had about 40 million immortal essence stones on him, he might not be able to win the bid.

While Han Li was thinking, the auction had already begun. After only a few rounds, the price had already risen to 20 million.

"Twenty-five million!" Han Li's mind raced, and he raised his hand with a high bid, increasing it by 5 million at once.

He didn't have enough immortal essence stones, so he could only try to overwhelm others first, hoping to scare off other bidders.

Sure enough, Han Li's price increase silenced the entire venue. Many people showed shocked expressions and didn't bid again.

"Twenty-eight million!" A cold voice rang out, belonging to the same person who had competed with him for the Netherworld Ghost Claw.

Han Li frowned slightly and was about to bid to suppress the price.

"Thirty million!" Another aloof voice rang out, coming from another VIP room.

Han Li looked over. Sitting inside was a young man dressed in blue, with an extraordinary aura.

"Thirty-three million!" Han Li raised his hand and shouted.

"Thirty-four million!" The blue-robed man frowned slightly, glanced at Han Li's room, and said in a deep voice.

"Thirty-six million!" The cold voice rang out again, sounding determined to win.

The blue-robed man shuddered and stopped speaking.

"Forty million!" Han Li shouted decisively.

The people in the venue burst into an uproar, all looking towards Han Li's room, discussing among themselves.

Han Li had previously bought the Netherworld Ghost Claw for 30 million immortal essence stones, which was still fresh in everyone's minds. Now, they were all curious about Han Li's identity and amazed at his wealth.

Han Li ignored the people in the venue, his eyes secretly looking towards the room where Lan Yan and the others were.

The room was silent for a moment, and the heart he was holding slowly relaxed.

"Forty-five million!" But at this moment, the cold voice suddenly rang out again.

Han Li let out a long sigh, a wry smile on his face, and said to Tihun:

"Tihun, the other party has more wealth than me. It seems that this Soul-Scattering Ghost Flute is out of our reach."

However, Tihun's eyes were closed at this moment, and she seemed to not have heard Han Li's words.

Han Li felt strange, but he didn't disturb her.

At this moment, no one in the venue bid again. The fat old man asked three times as usual and then announced the ownership of the Soul-Scattering Ghost Flute.

Just then, Tihun opened her eyes, and a look of joy appeared on her face as she said, "Master, those people just talked for a while, and I overheard an important message."

"What message?" Han Li was about to tell Tihun that the Soul-Scattering Ghost Flute had been bought by someone else, but hearing this, he quickly stopped and asked.

"I can't explain it clearly. Why don't you see for yourself, Master?" Tihun made a hand seal, and a wisp of black light entered Han Li's forehead.

A ball of black light appeared in Han Li's mind, then gently exploded, turning into a picture, which was the situation inside the room.

"Senior Jin's wealth is truly abundant. He can take out such a large sum of immortal essence stones with ease," a black-clothed man said flatteringly.

"A mere bit of immortal essence stones is not worth mentioning," the tall, thin figure said rather smugly.

"Alright, we've bought what we needed to buy. It's already been delayed for too long. Hurry up and do the main business. If we let that Gold Devouring Immortal escape again, none of us can expect to have a good time," another petite figure said in a cold voice. It was a woman, but for some reason, her voice was a bit unclear.

"Yes, yes..." The other people seemed to be quite afraid of this petite figure, and hurriedly agreed.

The picture was quite short. It flickered twice and disappeared.

Han Li narrowed his eyes, and a strange light flashed in his eyes.

The people of the Nine Yuan Sect are trying to capture the Gold Devouring Immortal. Could it be that Jin Tong escaped from the Nine Yuan Sect?