A fragrant aroma immediately surged out from the gap, quickly filling every corner of the plaza in the blink of an eye.
Upon inhaling it, all the foreign races felt an extraordinary comfort in their bodies.
“Spiritual Medicine! The final highlight item is actually a treasure from the Spiritual Medicine category.”
Almost everyone thought the same thing, their spirits instantly uplifted.
Unlike the previous treasures such as magic tools and cultivation techniques, Spiritual Medicine was something everyone could use. As the final highlight item, it naturally had to be something extraordinary, and thus, anticipation soared.
Hu Yushuang’s delicate hands blurred as she reached into the gap and retrieved a silver bowl the size of a palm.
The wondrous fragrance was emanating from this bowl.
Most of the foreign races were immediately astonished.
“Many fellow Daoists must be extremely curious about what lies within. In that case, I shall let everyone take a look first.” Hu Yushuang smiled faintly before tossing the bowl into the air in front of her, where it hovered in mid-air. She then swiftly formed hand seals and fired several incantations at it.
With a few soft *pops*, the bowl erupted with dazzling spiritual light. A layer of crystalline radiance swirled across its surface, turning it completely transparent and revealing everything inside with perfect clarity.
Gasps of shock erupted from all corners of the plaza!
Inside the now-transparent bowl was an unknown clear liquid.
Within the liquid, a golden five-clawed dragon swam gracefully.
This golden dragon was only a few inches long, yet it had all five claws intact, and every scale on its body was clearly visible. Four slender whiskers swayed gently in front of its mouth, making it indistinguishable from the legendary True Spirit Heavenly Dragon.
“A descendant of the Heavenly Dragon! Fellow Daoist Hu, have you gone mad? You actually captured a descendant of the Heavenly Dragon and dared to auction it openly?”
“If the True Spirit Dragon Clan descends upon our Spirit Realm because of this, the Wind Yuan Continent—no, the entire Spirit Realm—will be in grave trouble. This is no laughing matter!”
“I recall that in the past, other realms had incidents where direct descendants of the Heavenly Dragon were stolen. As a result, some smaller realms were completely annihilated by the Dragon Clan. Even larger realms suffered severe retaliation, leaving them greatly weakened.”
After the initial shock passed, the plaza erupted into chaos. Many foreign races stood up in terror, staring at the miniature golden dragon in the bowl as if it were a venomous scorpion. Some even began questioning Hu Yushuang without restraint.
The Great Ascension old monsters in the flying pavilions were also horrified, yet for some reason, they remained silent.
The beautiful woman, who had been smiling all along, frowned slightly as she saw the plaza descending into disorder.
“Silence!”
At that moment, the lean elder of the merchant alliance sitting at the corner of the stone platform suddenly opened his eyes and spoke coldly.
His voice wasn’t particularly loud, yet it echoed chillingly in everyone’s ears.
The agitated foreign races felt as if cold water had been poured over their heads, instantly sobering them.
They suddenly remembered that they were on the merchant alliance’s turf, and the other side had several Great Ascension elders overseeing the event.
Those who had stood up shuddered and sheepishly sat back down, while those who had been shouting immediately lowered their heads, becoming utterly docile.
“Fellow Daoist Jia, what exactly is going on? This old woman refuses to believe that your merchant alliance would truly abduct a descendant of the Heavenly Dragon. But then, what is this golden dragon? Don’t tell us it has no relation to the Heavenly Dragon lineage. Unlike the others, we old folks can clearly sense the aura of a True Dragon from it.” The female Great Ascension cultivator of the Tianming Clan was the first to speak up, though her question was no longer directed at Hu Yushuang but at the lean elder who had spoken earlier.
“Indeed, this matter is no trivial affair. Your alliance must give us an explanation,” another unfamiliar Great Ascension foreign cultivator chimed in for the first time.
Hu Yushuang’s expression flickered slightly upon hearing this, and she opened her mouth as if to explain.
But the lean elder of the merchant alliance raised his hand, a strange smile playing on his lips as he said,
“What explanation? If you all take a closer look at what you believe to be this Heavenly Dragon descendant, you’ll understand.”
With that, the lean elder closed his eyes again, ignoring everyone.
This naturally stirred another wave of commotion.
Both the ordinary foreign races in the plaza and the Great Ascension beings in the flying pavilions turned their attention back to the miniature golden dragon in the bowl, scrutinizing it carefully while countless strands of divine sense swept over it.
Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly, a piercing blue light flashing in his pupils.
“Hmm, the true form of this thing is actually…” A trace of surprise flickered across Han Li’s face as his thoughts raced.
He wasn’t the only one. Among the other Great Ascension elders, some possessed spirit eyes or mastered other esoteric techniques.
Several exclamations of astonishment rang out almost simultaneously.
“This golden dragon is actually a spiritual object that has taken form! How incredible! But how does it possess such a powerful True Dragon aura?”
“Tsk tsk, this old man has also discerned that this is a spiritual object in transformed form, but I still can’t identify its true nature. Has any fellow Daoist figured it out?”
“Indeed, a spiritual object capable of transforming into the likeness of a Heavenly Dragon must be of extraordinary origin!”
Various discussions broke out among the flying pavilions.
“I’ve discerned a bit, though I’m not certain if what I see is its true form,” Han Li remarked calmly, stroking his chin.
“Oh? Since Fellow Daoist has some insight, why not enlighten us?” The elderly Ephemera Clan cultivator responded with surprise.
Though Han Li had successfully bid for the Golden Jade Book earlier, he had never revealed his race or background. Yet now, he alone had seen through the true nature of the transformed spiritual object in the silver bowl—something even the Great Ascension elders of major races had failed to do. This naturally made many old monsters wary, and their attention shifted to Han Li’s flying pavilion.
“If my eyes do not deceive me, the original form of this golden dragon is merely a drop of spiritual blood,” Han Li stated after a moment of contemplation.
“What? Spiritual blood?”
“Impossible! How could a single drop of blood take the form of a Heavenly Dragon?”
“Could it be True Dragon blood?”
“No, I’ve seen True Dragon blood before—it doesn’t look like this at all!”
The Great Ascension elders were stunned by Han Li’s words, erupting into heated debate.
As for the ordinary foreign cultivators in the plaza, they whispered among themselves, their faces filled with confusion.
Hu Yushuang, however, couldn’t hide a flicker of surprise upon hearing Han Li’s words.
This did not escape Han Li’s notice. He chuckled softly before adding,
“Why argue among yourselves? If you wish to know the true nature of this treasure, why not let Fellow Daoist Hu explain it herself?”
“That’s right. Since the merchant alliance has put this item up for auction, they must know its true origins. Fellow Daoist Hu, stop keeping us in suspense and reveal the answer.”
This reminder prompted immediate agreement from the other Great Ascension elders.
“This junior wouldn’t dare keep secrets. It’s just that earlier, the esteemed seniors didn’t give me a chance to speak,” Hu Yushuang replied with a bitter smile, her expression aggrieved.
“Haha, that was our oversight. You may speak now.”
“Very well. In truth, what that senior said earlier wasn’t entirely wrong. The true form of this transformed spiritual object is indeed just a drop of spiritual blood.” Hu Yushuang exhaled deeply, then suddenly raised her hand, which glowed with white light as she struck the bowl with her palm.
*Pop!*
The liquid inside the transparent bowl rippled violently, and the fragrant aroma instantly intensified by more than twofold.
At the same time, the miniature golden dragon shuddered and curled up, transforming into a single drop of unknown golden liquid.
This golden droplet rotated slowly, its surface gleaming with a metallic luster, exuding an air of profound mystery.
“Could it truly be a drop of True Dragon blood?” someone gasped in shock.
“Of course not. Our Helian Merchant Alliance has auctioned True Dragon blood before. Besides, if it were, how could it have escaped your notice?” Hu Yushuang flatly denied.
“Then what exactly is this…?”
“We don’t know. Although our alliance has confirmed that this is a drop of essence blood, it doesn’t match any known essence blood from powerful beings. No—to be precise, none of the known powerful beings can even compare to the owner of this drop of blood.” Hu Yushuang took a deep breath before speaking slowly.
“Can’t compare? Does that include the ancient True Spirit Heavenly Dragon?” someone asked in astonishment.
“Yes, it includes even that. To be frank, we’ve conducted extensive tests on this drop of spiritual blood. For one thing, the energy contained within it is at least a hundred times greater than that of a drop of True Dragon blood of the same size. You all understand what that implies.” Hu Yushuang’s expression was grave.
“A hundred times? Impossible! Does that mean the owner of this blood is a hundred times stronger than a Heavenly Dragon?”
The woman’s words sent shockwaves through the crowd, and someone immediately cried out in disbelief.
“Even if not, the disparity can’t be far from that,” the beautiful woman replied.
“A being a hundred times stronger than an ancient True Spirit Heavenly Dragon… Such an existence surely doesn’t belong to our realm. Could it be… a being from the higher realm?” The female Great Ascension cultivator of the Tianming Clan spoke in awe.
By “higher realm,” she naturally meant the Immortal Realm.
“Immortal blood? But then, how do you explain the Heavenly Dragon aura it carries?” another Great Ascension elder immediately countered.
“Esteemed seniors, have you forgotten? The Immortal Realm also has True Dragons,” Hu Yushuang responded.
“Girl Hu, are you referring to the Ancestral Dragon of the Immortal Realm? Could this be a drop of Ancestral Dragon blood?” someone exclaimed, their voice trembling.
“While we cannot confirm it, many of our alliance’s appraisal masters believe so. This is also one of the reasons why we dared not keep this item hidden and chose to auction it instead.” Hu Yushuang answered candidly.
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