However, Qi Yu could only complain in her heart, never voicing her thoughts aloud.
The Demon Realm.
The moment Qi Yu stepped in, the token for the Myriad Scrolls Library at her waist automatically lit up, causing the entire library to erupt in excitement.
"She's here! Our Mistress is finally here!" The shopkeeper of the Myriad Scrolls Library, a plump rhinoceros demon, excitedly narrowed his eyes and bellowed to the library's subordinates in his raspy voice:
"Little ones, work hard! The Mistress might be visiting. If you perform well in front of her, we might get rewarded!"
The little demons of the Myriad Scrolls Library responded in unison.
They worked with great fervor, cleaning the entire library.
Qi Yu watched the token in her hand continuously glow, trying every method to conceal its light, but to no avail. After much effort, she finally tossed it into her storage pouch, letting it fend for itself.
Si Qing had been subtly observing Qi Yu's every move since a while ago. Seeing Qi Yu secretively stash something into her pet pouch, he couldn't help but ask, "Brother, what were you just doing?"
"...I was hiding sin," Qi Yu replied with a sigh.
Si Qing: "..."
After speaking, Qi Yu let out a deep sigh. As they drew closer to the Myriad Scrolls Library, she finally turned and grabbed Si Qing's arm, pleading in a low voice:
"Qing... can I ask you for a favor?"
Si Qing looked into Qi Yu's eyes with confusion.
Qi Yu fiddled with her fingers: "Can... can you transform into a woman?"
Si Qing's face darkened: "Brother... why do you want me to transform into a woman? Don't tell me you saw Feng Si Qian and thought she was cute, so you want a sister?"
"...Why would you say that, making me sound like I'm cheating? I definitely have my reasons," Qi Yu rolled her eyes. "Just tell me, will you transform or not?"
"...I refuse," Si Qing said without hesitation. "Unless you tell me why you want me to do this."
Qi Yu thought to herself that she wanted him to transform precisely because she didn't want to reveal the reason.
She haughtily lifted her chin, snorted, decided against making him transform, and turned to leave.
Si Qing quickly caught up.
Not far away, Yu Zhen and Li Yu had already stepped into the Myriad Scrolls Library.
The Myriad Scrolls Library was exceptionally beautiful, constructed from the strongest and most ancient trees in the Demon Realm.
It could accommodate over a million demons.
As Yu Zhen and the others walked in, the demons were busy packing books and hawking their wares.
Turning to greet the arriving guests, they saw the Imperial Princess Qi Nian walking at the very end.
Suddenly, the entire library fell silent, and a sea of demons knelt. They bowed to Qi Nian, offering their greetings:
"Greetings, Imperial Princess."
"All of you, rise." Qi Nian gestured for the demons to stand.
The Myriad Scrolls Library quickly resumed its lively atmosphere, with everyone enthusiastically calling out their wares.
Feng Si Qian, holding Qi Nian and Qi Yu's hands, weaved through the crowd of demons. She was about to inquire about the whereabouts of the Frost Condensation Painting when she saw the auctioneer in front, holding a blue scroll and stroking his beard as he announced:
"This is the rarely seen Frost Condensation Painting, one of the entrance tokens to the Ice Forest."
"As you all know, the Eight Directions Forests are now interconnected. In other words, the Frost Condensation Painting is no longer just an entrance token to the Ice Forest, but an entrance token to all elemental forests. It can accommodate ten people at a time."
"We shall now begin the bidding. The starting price is five hundred demon coins."
The atmosphere in the Myriad Scrolls Library became even more boisterous. People began raising their hands to bid:
"Six hundred demon coins!"
"Seven hundred gold!"
"Eight hundred gold! No, one thousand!"
Qi Yu remained silent throughout, idly picking her teeth and observing from the sidelines.
This Frost Condensation Painting was quite valuable.
It would cost at least tens of thousands of gold.
She usually needed a large amount of gold to reinforce her original body.
This was because gold was soft and beneficial to her cultivation.
The only drawback was that it wore down easily.
Therefore, she had to find ways to recruit followers from various realms using her abilities, and then have those followers gather gold for her.
"I bid two thousand gold," Feng Si Qian eagerly raised her hand.
However, this meager two thousand gold was nothing, and the price was quickly outbid.
Feng Si Qian stomped her foot in frustration and turned to look at Qi Yu and Qi Nian: "Don't just let me bid alone, you guys help too! If we can't get this painting, none of us can go."
Yu Zhen stroked his chin: "The bidding has already reached four thousand gold. I estimate we won't get it until it reaches tens of thousands of gold. I really don't have that much money."
After all, the Demon Palace still owed a lot of silver to the Underworld Treasury.
Feng Ming Xi was also penniless.
Li Yu frowned: "The bidding is too fierce. Tens of thousands of gold, who can afford that?"
Yue Zhi Yin also shook his head with his hands behind his back.
While tens of thousands of gold wouldn't be a problem for him as the Crown Prince of the North Sea Dragon Clan, he didn't particularly like spending so much gold for no reason.
Sui You, Chi Ming, Ming Lou, and Qi Yan also didn't have that much gold.
Qi Nian estimated the gold she could access at the moment and finally raised her hand, bidding ten thousand gold.
As soon as Qi Nian's bid was announced, the surroundings fell silent for a moment. But soon after, an elephant demon raised its placard and bid: "40,000 taels of gold!"
After bidding, the elephant demon turned to Qi Nian with a provocative expression, its face arrogant: "Why isn't Imperial Princess, you bidding anymore? If you don't, I'll take this item."
"Fifty-five thousand taels of gold!" Qi Nian seemed to have been provoked, her mind racing, and without thinking, she continued to bid.
"One hundred thousand gold," the elephant demon stated.
"Three hundred thousand gold!" Qi Nian looked at the elephant demon, her eyes red.
Feng Si Qian finally sensed something was wrong. This wasn't just a bidding war anymore; it was a fight with money. She quickly grabbed Qi Nian: "Nian, Nian, I don't want this painting anymore. We'll find another way. Why are you competing with him endlessly? That's gold!"
"Imperial Princess Qi Nian, you should listen to your friend, Third Princess Feng," the elephant demon arrogantly walked over. "Even if you bid a million gold, it's still my father's money, not yours. Why are you pretending to be rich here?"
"You're talking nonsense!" Qi Nian glared at the elephant demon. "Qi Feng, what do you mean it's your father's money! Don't get it wrong. The western part of the Demon Realm is governed by me, Imperial Princess Qi Nian. The money I use for bidding is naturally my own."
"Your money?" The elephant demon scoffed. "Can you afford three hundred thousand gold?"
Qi Nian indeed couldn't afford it and was furious, wanting to lash out.
Qi Yu had been watching for a while, unable to understand what was going on between this elephant and her second senior sister. So, she lowered her voice and asked Feng Si Qian:
"Who is this elephant? He actually dares to provoke even our second senior sister, the little Imperial Princess."
"This foolish elephant is Qi Nian's half-brother," Feng Si Qian explained in a low voice. "The Demon Realm has a tradition of inheritance. When the old king dies, his consorts and children are passed on to the new king."
"Qi Nian's mother was the Empress of the previous Demon King. Qi Nian is the Imperial Princess born to her mother and the previous Demon King. Therefore, when the new king ascended the throne, Qi Nian's birth mother remarried the new Demon King and gave birth to Qi Feng."
"In the Demon Realm, a princess is called an Imperial Princess, and a prince is called an Imperial Lord. Both males and females are eligible to compete for the throne."
"Currently, the only contenders for the position of Crown Prince in the Demon Realm are Qi Nian and Qi Feng. One governs the western Demon Realm, and the other governs the eastern Demon Realm. Every year at the end of the year, they compete in magic, cultivation, and revenue from money and territory... Qi Feng always looks down on Qi Nian, believing that as the daughter of a former Demon King, she is not qualified to compete."
Qi Yu suddenly understood, no wonder this foolish elephant was so arrogantly provoking Qi Nian.
Seeing Qi Nian's enraged expression, Qi Feng felt even more triumphant. Just as he was about to say something more, he suddenly heard Qi Yu from the side raise her hand: "One hundred million gold."
The entire audience gasped.
The auctioneer was stunned.
Qi Feng's eyes widened, and he pointed at Qi Yu, trembling: "You, do you have that much money? What place do you think this is? The words you speak, the prices you bid, you have to be responsible for them!"
"Responsible? I know," Qi Yu said arrogantly. "I didn't say I wouldn't be responsible. Why are you so agitated?"
Si Qing tugged at the hem of Qi Yu's clothes: "One hundred million gold... Brother, can you handle it?"
Yu Zhen and Li Yu also looked at Qi Yu.
Yue Zhi Yin pondered having someone send gold.
Sui You, Chi Ming, Qi Yan, Ming Lou, Feng Ming Xi, and Feng Si Qian all looked worried.
Qi Nian was touched by Qi Yu's actions and was about to say that she could afford the money. However, before she could speak, she saw Qi Yu looking calm and composed: "Don't worry, in this world, no one can handle it better than me, except for the God of Wealth."