Speaking, Chen Xiao held the jade ruyi, and with a thought, a yellow light flared from his hand.
In an instant, abundant spiritual energy surged into the jade ruyi, activating the formation runes.
Hum—
A humming sound arose, followed by the surface of the jade ruyi being covered in lightning!
Countless electric arcs, like silver-white snakes, coiled around the jade ruyi, crackling!
"Damn, it really is an offensive magical artifact!"
"Yes, it's an offensive magical artifact storing the Heavenly Thunder Formation Rune. I didn't expect this kid to be right. How did he see it?"
"I didn't expect this young man to be a cultivator. I was blind!"
Seeing this, the crowd began to discuss.
Xu Banxian's face paled in shock, and he looked at Chen Xiao in disbelief: "You're also a cultivator? But why can't I sense any spiritual energy fluctuations from you?"
To activate the formation runes on this magical artifact, one would need at least Golden Core stage strength. Could it be that this kid possessed Golden Core stage strength?
But why couldn't he sense the slightest spiritual energy fluctuation from him?
There were only two possible explanations for this outcome!
The first was that this kid's strength far surpassed the Golden Core stage. This was absolutely impossible. How old was he? To have reached the Golden Core stage would already be remarkable, let alone far exceeding it. Absolutely impossible!
The second possibility was that this kid possessed some kind of secret treasure that could conceal his spiritual energy fluctuations.
Perhaps even his ability to activate the formation runes was due to this secret treasure.
After all, given the kid's age, it was unlikely he had reached the Golden Core stage.
Xu Banxian was not wrong. Chen Xiao was indeed not at the Golden Core stage, because their cultivation systems were entirely different.
Moreover, Chen Xiao did possess a secret treasure, but that secret treasure was Chen Xiao himself.
He Xinwu was also confused. The more he saw, the less he understood.
But one thing was certain: this jade ruyi was not what Xu Banxian claimed it to be.
"Master Xu, what exactly is going on?"
He Xinwu lowered his voice and said coldly.
Xu Banxian forced a smile onto his face and said sheepishly, "Young Master He, don't be so hasty. Let me explain..."
"Explain what? You almost tricked me! That was the gift I prepared for my grandfather's birthday banquet, and you dared to lie to me!"
He Xinwu's eyes were icy, and he gritted his teeth, his demeanor as a wealthy young master completely gone.
"Young Master He, I had no choice. I've recently lost all my money due to investments, but this jade ruyi is very important to me, so I had to ask for your help to bid for it first... But don't worry, your grandfather's birthday is still a few days away, and your birthday gift is on me. I will definitely find a suitable magical artifact for you to make a splash at the banquet!"
Xu Banxian had no other choice but to explain.
"Hmph!"
He Xinwu snorted coldly, but he did not pursue the matter further.
It wasn't that he didn't want to pursue it, but rather that he had no way to deal with Xu Banxian.
After all, Xu Banxian was a great cultivator of the Golden Core stage. If he pushed him too hard, who knew what he might do.
Besides, He Xinwu hadn't actually acquired the jade ruyi, so he hadn't suffered any loss.
At this moment, someone spoke sarcastically to Chen Xiao.
"Young man, you're quite clever. Based on these scraps of evidence, you managed to guess the truth. But your cleverness backfired. You spent nine hundred million to buy this jade ruyi that can only be used once, and now you've used it. It would have been better to just throw that nine hundred million into the water. At least you would have heard a splash!"
As soon as this person finished speaking, another person sneered, "Why no splash? Didn't you see the Heavenly Thunder Formation on the jade ruyi? That's a much bigger splash than throwing money into the water!"
This remark drew a burst of laughter from the crowd.
In the eyes of these masters of arcane arts, the Heavenly Thunder Formation on the jade ruyi was no different from a large fireworks display.
Chen Xiao sneered, "A bunch of idiots. Haven't you ever thought about why that old rascal Xu Banxian would be so eager for this jade ruyi if it only had this much use?"
Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then they realized. That's right, why would Xu Banxian act like this?
Even though they were called idiots by Chen Xiao, they didn't care. Their eyes all turned to Xu Banxian.
"Hey, Xu Banxian, I remember you just said this jade ruyi was very important to you. What's the secret behind it?"
These masters of arcane arts all knew each other, and there were quite a few Golden Core cultivators among them. Xu Banxian was not the most outstanding among them.
Xu Banxian smiled sheepishly. He knew that these people were not easily fooled, so he had to explain, "To be honest, this jade ruyi is the遗物 (yíwù -遗物) of an old friend of mine. Now that something has happened to his family, his widow had no choice but to put this jade ruyi up for auction to raise money."
"I wanted to help my old friend's widow, but I was truly short of funds, so I had to resort to this method."
Upon hearing Xu Banxian's explanation, some people believed him and said with a curled lip, "Xu Banxian, I didn't expect you to be so stingy usually, but you're quite righteous at critical moments!"
"I dare not accept such praise. I merely did what was within my ability."
Xu Banxian clasped his hands and said.
However, someone soon found a loophole in his words and said, "That's not right, Xu Banxian. Since the jade ruyi was sold for a high price of nine hundred million, we all know that this jade ruyi is not worth that much. Logically speaking, your friend's widow got a good deal, and you should be secretly happy. Why are you causing trouble? Isn't this unnecessary?"
"Uh, this..."
Xu Banxian hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting around. Soon, he said, "After all, this item is the遗物 of my old friend. As a magical artifact, this jade ruyi might be a bit lackluster, but my old friend was deeply fond of it. So I thought, I'll try to find a way to get the jade ruyi back and secretly place it in my old friend's tomb, returning it to its rightful owner!"
As he spoke, he looked at Chen Xiao with a sorrowful expression: "Young friend, I know my actions are greedy, but I have my difficulties. I hope you can understand."
After Xu Banxian's speech, more than half of the people present believed him. After all, the old fellow's eyes were red, which didn't seem like a lie.
Chen Xiao sighed, "If that's the case, you truly do have your difficulties!"
"That's right, young friend. Why don't you return this jade ruyi to its rightful owner? I will surely repay you in the future. What do you think, young friend?"
Xu Banxian stared at the jade ruyi with longing, like an old fox seeing a hen, his mouth watering.
"Hahahaha..."
Chen Xiao suddenly burst into laughter, "Old rascal, you wish! I was just playing with you, and you actually took it seriously?"
Xu Banxian's brows furrowed, and his expression changed drastically!
Chen Xiao stood with his hands behind his back and shouted, "Old rascal, you can fool others, but you can't fool me!"
Before he finished speaking, Chen Xiao gripped the jade ruyi with force.
With a crack, the jade ruyi shattered into pieces...