However, if this endless bidding continued, the price had already rocketed to one hundred thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones, and their clash showed no sign of ending.

"I bid one hundred thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones."

The Yuan family’s Patriarch, Yuan Fei, was starting to get a little heated under the Chen family’s constant price hikes.

He knew the Qin family was deliberately antagonizing him, but there was nothing to be done. He had to grit his teeth and keep bidding.

The Yuan family could never give up on this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill. They simply couldn’t afford to.

"One hundred and five thousand."

What the Yuan family hadn’t expected was that even after the price soared past one hundred thousand, the Chen family still showed no signs of giving up.

The Chen family’s Patriarch spoke in a leisurely, relaxed tone, as if a hundred thousand or so was nothing to him.

And why wouldn’t he be relaxed? No matter how high he raised the price, he wasn’t the one who would have to pay in the end!

After all, he was just following his master’s orders. He also knew that this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill was the very item his master had put up for auction, which made him feel completely assured.

"One hundred and ten thousand!"

The Yuan family was finally starting to lose their temper. "Qin Feng, if you wanted to antagonize our Yuan family, shouldn’t this be enough? If you actually want this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill, then bid for it yourselves. What’s the meaning of sending a few lackeys to do your dirty work?"

The crowd all turned to look at the Qin family’s private room.

After bidding for so long, the Yuan family had finally lost their patience and called out the true mastermind.

But they only heard Qin Feng give a relaxed laugh. "Patriarch Yuan, you must be joking. My Qin family has no interest whatsoever in this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill. The Chen family’s bidding is their own business; don’t go dragging our Qin family into it. But then again, if your Yuan family wants it, just keep bidding. The Yuan family is a great and powerful house, after all. Surely you wouldn’t lose a bidding war to a lesser family under my Qin family’s command, would you?"

His tone, his posture, his words—all of it placed him completely above the Yuan family. On the surface, his words sounded pleasant, but beneath it all, every sentence was dripping with sarcasm aimed at the Yuan family.

This disgusting attitude was so shameless that even Ye Xuan couldn’t stand to watch it anymore.

The Qin family was utterly shameless. They were acting like whores but still wanted to be praised for their virtue.

’So the Qin family wants to play dirty, huh? Fine, I’ll make sure your little scheme fails!’

A thought flickered in Ye Xuan’s mind, and he instantly had an idea.

And in the time it took for that thought to form, the price of the Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill had already soared to one hundred and thirty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones.

All the Martial Artists in the auction hall were growing restless.

Those factions who knew the inside story could only shake their heads speechlessly, knowing that the Yuan family was being thoroughly manipulated by the Qin family this time.

For the sake of their family’s Supreme Elder, the Yuan family had to win this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill, even if it meant bleeding themselves dry.

Under normal circumstances, a Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill would cost thirty or forty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones at most. Now it was at one hundred and thirty thousand and still climbing. It was certain that the Yuan family was going to be the sucker of the day.

For a moment, the major powers revealed expressions of pity, sneering, contempt, and excitement.

Inside the Yuan family’s private room.

The members of the Yuan family all wore grim expressions.

"Patriarch, it’s already at one hundred and thirty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones, and the Qin family still won’t back down. They’re completely making a fool of us!"

"Exactly, Patriarch. If this continues, when will it ever end?"

"Also, Patriarch... don’t you feel something’s not right? The family searched all over the Imperial Capital for so long and never found a Pill like this. How did this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill suddenly appear now?"

"That’s right. According to our intel, Elder Qin Mu of the Qin family is the only one in the Imperial Capital capable of refining this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill. Could this be a scheme cooked up by the Qin family?"

Seeing the Qin family’s bidding, the people of the Yuan family were furious, but they also realized something was wrong. They knew it was very likely a scheme by the Qin family, and each one of them was exceptionally enraged.

At the head of the private room sat a middle-aged man with an extraordinary presence, his face dark and grim.

This man was the Yuan family’s Patriarch, Yuan Fei. His face was ashen as he said, "Everyone, do we have any other choice? You all know the extent of Supreme Elder Yuan Zhen’s injuries. So, regardless of whether the Qin family refined this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill or not, we must win it."

The elders’ gazes darkened, and they all sighed.

Yuan Fei also felt terrible inside.

He knew full well—with over eighty percent certainty—that today’s events were a show deliberately put on by the Qin family. Their goal was to ruthlessly extort the Yuan family and slap them hard across the face.

But Yuan Fei had no choice.

Although the Yuan family was one of the four great houses with deep financial resources, they only had two or three Martial King Level experts.

Supreme Elder Yuan Zhen had always been the pillar of the family, overseeing their external businesses. This allowed him, the Patriarch, to manage affairs in the Imperial Capital without a single worry about the family’s assets elsewhere.

After all, the Yuan family was in the mining business, and control over the mines was of utmost importance.

Only a Martial King Level expert was strong enough to hold the line.

Therefore, if anything were to happen to Supreme Elder Yuan Zhen, causing him to lose his ability to stand guard, it would be an absolutely unbearable blow to the Yuan family.

At best, their businesses would be shaken, and they would face internal and external troubles. At worst, the imperial mining rights that the Yuan family had long controlled would fall into the hands of another family.

This didn’t even include the damage to the Yuan family’s reputation, prestige, and deterrent power that would come with the loss of a Martial King expert like Yuan Zhen.

Thus, no matter how much money it cost, he had to win this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill today.

Even if it meant being laughed at as a sucker, even if it meant being played for a fool by the Qin family, he had to grit his teeth and endure it.

Yuan Fei gritted his teeth and called out another high price: "One hundred and forty thousand."

The Chen family Patriarch chuckled nefariously and, without a second thought, said, "One hundred forty-five thousand."

This way of raising the price without even batting an eye left everyone dumbfounded.

Was the Chen family even bidding at this point? This was just making a mockery of the situation. One hundred and forty-five thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones—did the Chen family even have that kind of wealth? Even if you stripped the entire Chen family bare, they probably couldn’t scrape that much together, right?

Many people maliciously thought that if the Yuan family suddenly stopped bidding, the Chen family wouldn’t even have a place to cry. It would be a recipe for complete and utter ruin.

But that was only what many people in the crowd who didn’t know the truth were thinking. Those who understood the full story knew very well that no matter what price the Chen family bid, the Yuan family would not give up.

It wasn’t that they were unwilling to give up, but that they couldn’t.

At this moment, the happiest party was naturally the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion. The higher the price, the bigger their commission. If they could, they would have loved for both sides to drive the price up to a million Lower Grade Profound Stones.

"One hundred and fifty thousand."

In the private room, Yuan Fei spoke, his voice cold and his tone devoid of any emotion.

"Patriarch Qin," his icy words rang out, "some things are best done in moderation."

At this moment, Yuan Fei had actually calmed down. Since the Yuan family couldn’t possibly give up, he might as well just keep bidding. He wanted to see just how big the Qin family’s appetite really was.

Qin Feng laughed leisurely. "Patriarch Yuan, I don’t understand what you’re saying. It’s not me bidding against you, so telling me is completely useless. Besides, everyone knows your Yuan family controls numerous mining veins in the empire. A couple hundred thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones is just a drop in the bucket for you."

"Hehe, Patriarch Qin is absolutely right. Why would the Yuan family care about such a small amount of money?" The Chen family’s Patriarch actually let out a snicker. "How about this? I’ll bid one hundred and sixty thousand."

The Chen Patriarch’s tone was extremely flippant. At a time like this, he had actually raised the bid by ten thousand in one go.

The scene immediately exploded into an uproar, as if a pot had boiled over.

The Chen family was hell-bent on offending the Yuan family to the bitter end. Even if you have the Qin family backing you and want to be a vanguard for your master, there’s no need to be *this* dedicated, is there?

After all, no matter how you slice it, your Chen family is just a subordinate power to the Qin family. If you really get into trouble, wouldn’t you just be seeking your own doom?

"This Qin family is just too shameless."

"They’re trying to bleed the Yuan family dry."

In Ye Xuan’s private room, Luo Min and Luo Cheng shook their heads resentfully.

Their hatred for the Qin family was absolute.

It wasn’t just them; at this moment, the other families also felt the Qin family was going too far.

Listening to the uproar and sensing the Qin family’s excitement, Ye Xuan felt extremely displeased.

’I can’t let the Qin family continue being so arrogant. One hundred and sixty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones... if this deal really goes through, wouldn’t all my hard work making the Qin family spend so much money before be a complete waste?’

’It’s just a mere Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill. Does the Qin family really think no one else can produce one?’

Thinking of this, Ye Xuan steeled his heart and decided to make a move.

"’Master Lu Li, this time, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask for your help,’ Ye Xuan secretly sent a spiritual message to Lu Li."

Lu Li was momentarily stunned. "Kid, what are you up to now?"

"It’s nothing, I just need you to act as a guarantor."

Before Master Lu Li could react, Ye Xuan had already sent a spiritual message to the Yuan family’s private room.

"Patriarch of the Yuan family, today’s auction is a deliberate ploy by the Qin family to toy with you. If your family’s Supreme Elder was indeed afflicted by the fire poison of a Winged Fire Beast, then the Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill on stage is completely incapable of dispelling it. If you trust me, then give up on the bidding. I will take responsibility for your Supreme Elder’s injuries."

Ye Xuan also knew that just telling the Yuan family about the Qin family’s plot might not be enough for them to give up. So, while revealing everything, he also told them that he had a solution.

Only then would the Yuan family be willing to abandon the auction.

After Ye Xuan sent the spiritual message, Yuan Fei’s body trembled inside the Yuan family’s private room.

"Patriarch, what’s wrong?" several elders asked in confusion.

Yuan Fei’s expression was grave. "Someone just told me that this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill can’t cure Supreme Elder Yuan Zhen’s injuries at all. Today’s auction is a ploy by the Qin family to toy with our Yuan family."

"What?"

"Who said that?"

"Is that true?"

The Yuan family elders in the private room were all shocked.

"It was that young man from the Luo family."

As soon as his words fell, Yuan Fei’s gaze suddenly shot towards Ye Xuan’s location. An invisible aura seemed to penetrate the barrier of the Celestial Level private room.