For a moment, Luo Min was completely bewildered. He felt like the world had gone mad.

He had only brought twenty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones with him this time. He couldn’t believe the Wang family and the Gu family had so easily bid this much for a Sixth Grade Pill. It was beyond his comprehension.

The bidding war between these two great families left the other families momentarily stunned.

"Thirty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones!"

Suddenly, a cold voice drifted out from a Celestial Level private room—the one belonging to the Yuan family.

"Thirty-five thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones."

The bid was quickly followed by the Gu family from their Earth Level private room.

"Forty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones." The cold voice from the Yuan family’s room called out again, without a hint of hesitation.

The bidding was simply insane.

Sixth Grade Pills had appeared in auctions before, but never had the bidding been this explosive right from the start.

The price had skyrocketed from five thousand to forty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones in the span of a few breaths, leaving people no time to react.

Many families and Martial Artists who had originally planned to bid could only smile bitterly and give up upon seeing this.

It had shot up to forty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones in the blink of an eye. Who could afford to play at this level?

Besides, the Yuan family was one of the four great houses of the Imperial Capital, their financial power immense.

Judging by Patriarch Yuan Fei’s earlier demeanor, he was clearly determined to win. It was a clear signal: whoever dared to compete with him would face his wrath.

"Excellent, this gentleman has bid forty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones. Are there any higher bids?"

The green-robed elder asked loudly, his expression calm and composed, as if certain that this was not the final price.

Sure enough, the moment his voice fell, a family called out, "Fifty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones."

Luo Min was instantly dumbfounded. ’That voice... it must be the Chen family. The Chen family is also a vassal of the Qin family. Have all of the Qin family’s vassals gone mad today? Fifty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones—can they even afford that?’

Luo Min found it hard to believe.

The Chen family, the Wang family, and the Gu family were all vassals of the Qin family. Like the Luo family, they were established families, and Luo Min had a general idea of their financial situations.

But today, these three families were bidding repeatedly as if they were on stimulants, leaving Luo Min both incredulous and overwhelmed.

Fifty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones was no small sum. At the very least, he, the Patriarch of the Luo family, certainly couldn’t produce that amount.

"Sixty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones."

The Chen family had just shouted the high price of fifty thousand, and the Yuan family, without even a moment’s consideration, directly raised it to sixty thousand.

WHOOSH.

The entire crowd was in an uproar.

Although a Sixth Grade Pill was precious, it still had a market value. Generally, a price of twenty to thirty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones was considered normal. Anything higher would depend on the Pill’s rarity and specific properties.

While this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill was rare, its estimated value was around thirty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones. Yet now, not long after the bidding had started, the price had soared to sixty thousand, leaving many people in the audience dumbfounded.

"Hm?" Suddenly, as if he’d realized something, understanding dawned on Luo Min’s face. "The Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill... no wonder. No wonder the Yuan family is bidding so aggressively, and the Chen, Wang, and Gu families are being so lavish. It seems the Yuan family is about to be swindled by the Qin family."

Luo Min said, shaking his head.

Ye Xuan, who was beside him, was taken aback and asked, "Patriarch Luo, what does this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill have to do with the Yuan family?"

"Young Master Ye, it’s like this," Luo Min immediately explained. "Half a year ago, the Yuan family approached all the major Alchemy factions in the Imperial Capital, asking everywhere for a Pill that could dispel Fire Element power and eliminate heart-fire. At the time, our Luo family was considered a second-rate Alchemy power in the Imperial Capital, so they approached us as well."

"Of course, with the Luo family’s abilities, we were completely incapable of refining such a Pill, so we quickly declined."

"Later, I heard that a Supreme Elder of the Yuan family was injured by a Tier Seven Winged Fire Beast while training out in the world. The injury caused fire poison to invade his body, hence their urgent need for a fire-clearing Pill."

"I had assumed that after so long, the Yuan family would have found a Pill. It seems now that they obviously haven’t. No wonder they’re bidding so frantically for the Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill."

Luo Min shook his head.

Luo Cheng, standing by his side, asked in confusion, "Father, what does this have to do with the Qin family?"

Luo Min continued, "In the Imperial Capital, the Qin family is the one most likely to refine this type of Pill. There are many Pills on the market for treating cultivation deviation—the Imperial Pill Pavilion, the Alchemist Association, and the Vast Light Commerce Association all have them. But for one that can also dispel fire poison, the difficulty increases severalfold."

"Furthermore, the Heaven-Burning Fire Skill that the Qin family cultivates is itself a Fire Attribute Cultivation Technique, giving them masterful control over flames. That makes them the most likely to be able to refine such a Pill."

"Originally, I was just speculating. But seeing the attitude of the Chen, Wang, and Gu families, I’m ninety percent certain that the Qin family is the one who put this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill up for auction. And the reason the Chen family and the others are doing this is simply to drive up the auction price for the Qin family."

Luo Min said, his gaze profound.

"Such a thing is possible?" Luo Cheng’s face showed a trace of astonishment.

Luo Min smiled. "Driving up the price of your own auction item isn’t some big secret. In a place like the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion, they don’t announce the consignor of the treasures, so no one knows who actually put the item up for auction. If you deliberately bid, others will just assume you want to win the item."

"As for the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion, the higher the selling price of a treasure, the more commission they earn, so naturally they hope the price goes as high as possible."

Just as Luo Min had guessed, the Qin family’s private room was currently buzzing with excitement.

"Patriarch, as soon as our Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill appeared, the Yuan family went crazy, just as expected. The price hit sixty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones in the blink of an eye."

"Heh heh, of course! That old geezer from the Yuan family, Yuan Zhen, still hasn’t gotten rid of the fire poison in his body. His cultivation base is constantly deteriorating. The Yuan family is like ants on a hot pan right now. It’d be a miracle if they could stay calm after seeing the Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill."

"So, sixty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones is nowhere near expensive enough. It should be at least one hundred thousand."

"One hundred thousand? Hmph, that’s too little. We won’t stop until it’s one hundred sixty thousand. We have to at least recoup our losses from the Heaven-Burning Fire Skill."

"One hundred sixty thousand... Isn’t that too high? What if the Yuan family gives up?"

"The Yuan family, give up? No matter what, that old geezer Yuan Zhen is a Supreme Elder of the Yuan family, a Tier Seven Martial King. A price of one hundred sixty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones is still worth it for him."

"I also think one hundred sixty thousand is about right."

"Heh heh, what I’m most curious about is the look on the Yuan family’s faces when they get the Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill and discover it can’t actually cure the fire poison in Yuan Zhen’s body."

"HAHAHA!"

In the Qin family’s private room, the elders all wore sinister smiles.

Meanwhile, on the auction floor, the scene grew even more heated.

Seeing the Yuan family raise the bid again, the Patriarch of the Chen family, after receiving a sound transmission, immediately called out, "The Chen family bids seventy thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones."

When this bid was announced, the scene erupted in another uproar.

The Chen family? They were just one of the established families, a vassal of the Qin family. Since when were they so wealthy?

The crowd wasn’t stupid; they understood immediately. The Chen family absolutely could not afford seventy thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones on their own. But in the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion, they wouldn’t dare make a reckless bid. That meant someone must be backing them.

Without a doubt, that backer had to be the Qin family.

"Heh, remember when the Luo family was raising funds? The Yuan family was the first to support them, weren’t they? Well, now the Qin family’s revenge has come."

"The Qin family is just trying to mess with the Yuan family. They won’t step up themselves, so they’re sending their vassal families to do the dirty work."

Those who didn’t know the full story all speculated this way, assuming the Qin family was retaliating against the Yuan family for supporting the Luo family earlier.

Yet, the Yuan family couldn’t afford to back down and had to continue bidding: "Eighty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones."

"I bid eighty-five thousand," the Chen family’s Patriarch said with a sly chuckle.

Watching this scene unfold, Ye Xuan felt extremely displeased.

He knew the truth wasn’t what everyone was speculating—that the Qin family was retaliating because the Yuan family had supported him. Nevertheless, the Yuan family had indeed been the first to stand with him earlier.

For that, Ye Xuan felt a little grateful.

Moreover, he was now an enemy of the Qin family. Seeing them gleefully toy with others, making fools of them... When the Qin family was happy, Ye Xuan was naturally unhappy.

"Hm?" Suddenly, Ye Xuan’s Profound Sense swept over the auction stage, and his expression froze.

"Patriarch Luo, you said earlier that the Yuan family’s Supreme Elder was injured by a Winged Fire Beast?" Ye Xuan asked with a frown.

"As far as I know, yes."

Luo Min replied, looking at Ye Xuan in confusion, not understanding why he would ask such a question.

Upon hearing this, Ye Xuan’s eyes narrowed. ’What a vicious Qin family,’ he thought grimly. ’They’re planning to devour them, bones and all.’

With that previous sweep of his Profound Sense, Ye Xuan had immediately detected the problem with the Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill on the auction stage.

A normal Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill was indeed a Sixth Grade Pill. It could indeed dispel fire poison, eliminate heart-fire, and ultimately heal injuries from a Winged Fire Beast.

However, the Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill currently being auctioned at the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion was different from a normal one.

The person who refined this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill must have been an expert. They had made subtle alterations to the many ingredients used in its Alchemy.

The alteration wasn’t major and didn’t significantly affect the Pill’s overall efficacy, but it just so happened to greatly diminish its ability to counteract the fire poison of a Winged Fire Beast.

In other words, this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill could indeed cure most types of fire poison damage, but it was specifically ineffective against the fire poison of a Winged Fire Beast.

The Qin family’s malicious intentions were as clear as day.

Ye Xuan felt that he could no longer stand by and do nothing.

He didn’t actually care what happened to the Yuan family, but he absolutely could not let the Qin family’s scheme succeed.

At this moment, the fiery bidding war was still raging on.

At this price point, all the other major families had already given up on the Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill. The only ones left were the few families under the Qin family’s banner and the Yuan family itself.