"One year? It isn’t a long time, but it’s enough. The Pill of Eternal Youth truly lives up to its name. Miraculous, simply miraculous!"

Gazing at the black hairs sprouting at his temples, his ruddier complexion, and his slightly faded wrinkles, Elder Xu was overcome with excitement.

As an Alchemist, he knew just how frighteningly huge the market for appearance-preserving pills was.

It was just that such pills were far too rare on the market.

Elder Xu was certain that if a pill like this appeared at an auction, it would cause an unprecedented sensation.

Everyone has a desire for beauty. Even he felt his heart flutter at the sight of a few black hairs appearing at his temples, to say nothing of women.

"So, what does Elder Xu think of my pill?" Ye Xuan asked, a faint smile on his lips.

"This pill... Heaven-Reaching Pavilion will accept it," Elder Xu declared at once, his voice filled with excitement.

If he turned away such a miraculous pill, he would never be able to forgive himself.

A pill of this caliber was worthy of being a finale item, sure to be a high point of the auction.

The only shame was that there was only one Pill of Eternal Youth. A single year of youth was, frankly, too short.

As if sensing Elder Xu’s disappointment, Ye Xuan smiled faintly and produced several more jade vials.

"I have a total of ten of these Pills of Eternal Youth. I’d like to entrust Elder Xu to auction them all."

"Ten..."

Elder Xu’s heart skipped a beat, and he couldn’t suppress the ecstatic joy flaring in the depths of his eyes.

’This is exactly what I was hoping for.’

One year was a bit short for powerful experts, but ten years... that was another story entirely.

One could only imagine the frenzy it would whip up among countless female Martial Artists.

"However, I have one condition for the auction: these ten Pills of Eternal Youth must be sold as a single lot. They cannot be separated."

"Of course," Elder Xu said without a moment’s hesitation.

Even if Ye Xuan hadn’t said it, Elder Xu would have done so anyway. Only by selling them as a set, with "ten years of youth" as the main selling point, could they maximize the pills’ value.

"Oh, right. My Pill of Eternal Youth has another feature. After taking it for ten years, if one stops, once the time is up, the user’s youth won’t revert to its original state all at once. Instead, they will begin to age from their restored appearance, just a bit faster than normal."

"It has that effect, too?"

Elder Xu’s breath caught in his throat, his eyes wide with shock.

’This fellow really won’t stop until he’s shocked me to death. With this, the Pill of Eternal Youth will be even more competitive.’

"Sir, Heaven-Reaching Pavilion accepts your item. It will be featured in the finale of tomorrow’s annual auction. As is customary, we will charge a five percent commission on the sale. Here is the paperwork; please fill it out."

The form only asked for basic information. Ye Xuan casually filled in some of it, but he left the name field blank.

Xu Wei saw this but said nothing. The form was merely for the auction house’s internal records. It was common for people with items of questionable origin not to provide correct information, and the auction house wouldn’t press the issue.

"After the auction, you can use the claim ticket to collect your payment from the auction house. Please keep it safe. We will recognize the ticket, not the person," Xu Wei reminded him.

"That won’t be necessary. Just deposit the money directly into this account after the auction." Ye Xuan wrote his Profound Card number on the form. He had no desire to make another trip to the auction house and deal with the extra hassle.

"You trust our auction house that much, Sir?" Elder Xu Wei asked, a little stunned.

"Heh. Heaven-Reaching Pavilion is the premier auction house on the continent. It’s been in business for over three thousand years, with its headquarters on Tonglan Street in the Profound Domain Sacred City. A single square foot of land there is worth more than an entire empire in the Lower Domain. Why would you covet my paltry sum?" Ye Xuan replied without a second thought.

Elder Xu Wei’s gaze fell on Ye Xuan, his expression turning to one of utter shock.

"If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving." Ye Xuan stood up.

"Allow me to see you out, Sir..." Elder Xu Wei scrambled to his feet and personally escorted Ye Xuan to the door.

Steward He scurried to follow.

The middle-aged steward who had been waiting in the hall to see Ye Xuan get thrown out saw this, and his legs went weak with fright. He collapsed to the ground with a THUD, his face a mask of horror.

’He’s actually being personally escorted out by Elder Xu, the number one appraisal elder in the pavilion! Just who is this person?’ The steward felt a cold sweat break out all over his body, and his legs wouldn’t stop shaking.

Steward He shot him a cold glance before hurrying after Elder Xu Wei to the hall entrance to see Ye Xuan off.

"Oh, right!" Just as Ye Xuan was about to leave, Xu Wei quickly took out a golden Token and handed it to him. "Sir, this is a Celestial Level VIP Token for our Heaven-Reaching Pavilion. If you attend the auction, you can go directly to the corresponding Celestial Level private box."

"Alright." Ye Xuan casually accepted the Token and left without lingering, walking straight out under their watchful eyes.

"Elder Xu, this man is mysterious, and his pills are extraordinary, but was it really necessary to give him a Celestial Level box?" Steward He asked in confusion after Ye Xuan had disappeared from sight.

The private boxes at Heaven-Reaching Pavilion were divided into four tiers: Celestial, Terrestrial, Profound, and Yellow. There were only thirty Celestial Level boxes in total, none of which were for public sale. Only factions of a certain standing were granted access.

For the Celestial Level boxes at the Sky Empire’s branch of Heaven-Reaching Pavilion, for instance, the minimum requirement for entry was to be a powerhouse on the level of a major faction.

That was why Steward He was so puzzled.

"This man’s background is anything but ordinary. Giving him a Celestial Level box is only appropriate," Elder Xu said, shaking his head.

"Elder Xu, what exactly is his background?" Steward He asked, still puzzled.

"It’s hard to say." Elder Xu Wei’s expression was grave, and he didn’t elaborate.

Steward He nodded. ’He doesn’t look very old, but to be able to produce such a treasure, he’s clearly no ordinary person. He just seems to enjoy bragging, though. He even dared to claim he knows where Heaven-Reaching Pavilion’s headquarters is located. Heh, even a steward like me doesn’t know, so how could he? And the Holy City’s Tonglan Street... who even knows if the Profound Domain has such a city, let alone such a street!’

Elder Xu Wei suddenly shot him a strange look, making the hair on Steward He’s neck stand up. "Elder Xu, what is it?" he asked in confusion.

Xu Wei said gravely, "I’ve never been to the headquarters myself, but I do know that our Heaven-Reaching Pavilion headquarters is, in fact, located in the Profound Domain Sacred City. And it is right on Tonglan Street."

"What?"

The color drained from Steward He’s face, his expression turning to one of horrified disbelief. He stared blankly.

Back at the Luo family’s residence, Ye Xuan removed his cloak, a relaxed expression on his face.

’As long as the Pill of Eternal Youth makes a name for itself at the auction, the Luo family’s shop won’t need any advertising once it opens. It’ll take the Imperial Capital’s market by storm.’ Ye Xuan was very confident about this.

「The night passed in the blink of an eye.」

Early the next morning, a cheerful Luo Cheng arrived at Ye Xuan’s room.

"Young Master Ye, today’s the annual auction in the Imperial Capital! We should get going, or the roads will be an absolute mess."

Luo Cheng was well aware of the traffic conditions in the Imperial Capital; on any big occasion, the streets were guaranteed to be overflowing with people.

Ye Xuan smiled. "Are your injuries all healed?"

"They healed a long time ago! That Healing Elixir you gave me was miraculous, Young Master Ye. In a couple of days, isn’t your Profound Pill Pavilion opening? I’ll go work as a clerk, hehe. With you making the moves, Young Master Ye, we’ll definitely crush the Qin family."

"And the Qu family, too! If they knew you had such an incredible Healing Elixir, they’d probably cry their eyes out."

Luo Cheng was beaming, clearly in high spirits.

Ye Xuan chuckled. "You, a clerk? Let’s forget that idea. I suggest you focus on your cultivation, break through to the next level, and don’t disappoint your father."

"Hehe." Luo Cheng scratched his head, embarrassed. "I know, I know. But my talent is nothing compared to yours, Young Master Ye. It’ll probably take me a while to break through to Tier Five... I’m afraid it might even take a year or two."

"Not necessarily. The Profound Pill Pavilion’s specialty is advancement pills. I didn’t give you any before because you were injured. Take this vial of pills. Start taking them tonight. At your current level, you should be able to break through to Tier Five in less than a month."

"Really?" Luo Cheng’s face lit up with surprise as he took the vial of pills from Ye Xuan.

"Would I lie to you?" Ye Xuan said with a faint smile.

"Thank you so much, Young Master Ye!" Luo Cheng excitedly put the pills away. "Oh, right! The auction is about to start. Here are three hundred million Profound Coins and twenty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones. It’s the Luo family’s entire savings. My father said to give them to you, and if you see anything you like at the auction, you should spend freely."

Three hundred million Profound Coins and twenty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones was no small sum.

Given the Luo family’s current situation, this was likely all the wealth they could muster.

Ye Xuan could feel Luo Min’s sincerity. It was clear the Luo family had now resolved to follow him with unwavering loyalty.

Ye Xuan smiled faintly and accepted the money. He felt no reservations about taking it; after all, he had already done so much for the Luo family.

Besides, once the Profound Pill Pavilion opened, the profits it would generate for the Luo family would be far beyond what this paltry sum could compare to.

"Let’s go. Where’s your father? We can go over together."

"He’s busy preparing for the Profound Pill Pavilion’s opening," Luo Cheng said. "He told us to go on ahead and that he’ll be there in a little while."

Ye Xuan didn’t insist and headed to the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion with Luo Cheng.

The main street was, as expected, bustling with people. The annual auction had drawn in a large number of Martial Artists from outside the Imperial Capital, causing business all over the city to boom.

Navigating through the sea of people and carriages, Ye Xuan and Luo Cheng arrived at the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion.

A huge crowd was lined up at the entrance to the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion. The queue nearly wrapped around the plaza several times. A quick glance revealed at least several thousand people, and more were constantly joining the line.