On the Suspended Plaza, Lin Dong looked at the dried corpse on the auction stage, his eyes narrowing. Just now, the Devouring Ancestor Symbol within his body had shown a slight anomaly, and at the same time, Little Marten's voice came from beside him.
"Lin Dong, this dried corpse seems a bit special. Want to bid for it and play around?"
Little Marten didn't bother to hide his voice. After all, the Gu Family was now considered a large family, and he, Lin Diao, was a well-known figure in the Chaotic Demon Sea. As long as he sat there, people would inevitably observe him in secret.
At this time, if Little Marten were to be secretive, it would only arouse suspicion. It would be better to be open and honest.
Moreover, there were many interesting things in this world. Most strong individuals had some special hobbies; some liked chess, some liked wine, some enjoyed tea, and so on.
Besides, this dried corpse was already peculiar, and even Death Profound Realm experts couldn't destroy it. Wasn't it normal to find it interesting? It was even more normal to buy it back for research, especially for a force like the Gu Family, which wasn't short of money.
Lin Dong nodded slightly, and just as he was about to say something, Yan's voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Oh my god, Lin Dong, Lin Dong, bid for it, bid for it! Holy crap, your luck is too good, kid! You can even encounter a Devouring Corpse?"
"Devouring Corpse?"
Hearing this unfamiliar name, Lin Dong's heart stirred slightly. Recalling the earlier anomaly of the Devouring Ancestor Symbol within his body, he quickly asked Yan in his mind.
"Yan, does this thing have anything to do with the Devouring Ancestor Symbol?"
"Nonsense, of course it does! This is a puppet refined by the Devouring Master using the Devouring Ancestor Symbol. At its peak, it could rival a Revolving Wheel Realm expert! Moreover, because it possesses some Devouring Power, a fully unleashed Devouring Corpse could even hold back several Revolving Wheel Realm experts simultaneously!"
Lin Dong's heart was somewhat excited upon hearing this. Although he and his brothers were now quite strong and barely had some self-preservation ability, and were not afraid of ordinary Revolving Wheel Realm experts, they were ultimately not in the Revolving Wheel Realm. If they faced several Otherworldly Demon Generals working together, they would likely be in grave danger.
But if they had this Devouring Corpse, they would truly not fear Otherworldly Demons below the King-level. Unless General-level Otherworldly Demons came in droves, they would not fear the enemy's attack. They would even have a chance to hold them back, wait for reinforcements, and eliminate the attacking Otherworldly Demons.
Seeming to sense the desire in Lin Dong's heart, Yan couldn't help but roll his eyes and say.
"What are you daydreaming about, kid? If this Devouring Corpse were in its peak state, it wouldn't have been salvaged by the Sky Merchant Pavilion. This should be the Devouring Corpse that was used to hold back a group of Otherworldly Demon Generals when the Devouring Master was besieged. It has already been severely damaged and barely has the strength of the Life Profound Realm."
"Then this thing, should it be able to be repaired?"
Lin Dong asked cautiously, afraid that Yan would say that it was scrapped and couldn't be repaired, which would be a complete disappointment.
"Yes, with the Devouring Ancestor Symbol, it can be repaired. However, your strength is too weak. My suggestion is to wait until you see the Sword Saint again and ask him to help you repair this Devouring Corpse."
"Okay!"
After nodding slightly, Lin Dong suppressed the eagerness in his eyes and stared intently at the Devouring Corpse on the stage. Then, he heard Tang Zhen say loudly.
"Mysterious dried corpse, the auction now begins! Starting price, five million Profound Essence Pills!"
"Hiss! Five million?"
"A puppet that can't be controlled is being auctioned for five million? That's too expensive, isn't it?"
"Although this thing is a bit peculiar, five million is indeed a bit of a rip-off."
As Tang Zhen's voice fell, a burst of whispers erupted on the Suspended Plaza. Tang Zhen's expression remained normal upon hearing this. They hadn't figured out this thing, but they also knew that it was extraordinary.
A puppet that even Death Profound Realm experts found difficult to shake, if it really couldn't be activated, five million was indeed a bit high. But who knew if this thing could be activated? Perhaps, no one had been able to find a way to control it?
Therefore, for items with other possible values, the price definitely had to be slightly higher. Moreover, the dried corpse itself was also valuable. If they could research how it was made, they would make a huge profit.
However, this kind of thing also had some limitations. Therefore, Tang Zhen didn't have high hopes for it. It would be good if it could be auctioned off; if not, they would just keep it.
After the surroundings quieted down a bit, Lin Dong didn't continue to wait and directly said.
"I'm quite interested in this thing, six million!"
As Lin Dong spoke, everyone around focused their gazes on him, frowning upon seeing his young and unfamiliar face.
"Who is this person?"
"Judging from his seat, he seems to be from the Gu Family."
"The Gu Family of the Sky Wind Sea Region? Are they really that arrogant? Or is the Sky Merchant Pavilion looking down on those two great cave heavens?"
"Heh, don't you know? It's said that some time ago, the Evil Wind Cave Master Wu Xuan wanted to cause trouble for the Gu Family, but he retreated in disgrace. Not only that, he even joined forces with Qiankun Cave Heaven to voluntarily cede half of their sea region to the Gu Family."
"Young man, be careful what you say. Although I haven't met him, I don't think he's Gu Mengqi's Sky Demon Marten husband. He should be Lin Dong, the head of the Gu Family."
"This person's background is not small. His younger sister is the nextPalace Master of the Darkness Hall, the controller of the Darkness Ancestor Symbol, and that Sky Demon Marten who controls the Space Ancestor Symbol is also his brother."
"Hehe, you guys don't understand anything. All of this is nothing compared to Lin Dong's own identity. Lin Dong is a genius of the Lin Clan of the Eastern Xuan Region."
"The Lin Clan? Never heard of it!"
"Tch, ignorant. The Eastern Xuan Region, even the number one expert in the Four Great Mysterious Domains, the Sword Saint, have you heard of him? At the Death Profound Realm, he could fight against three Reincarnation Realm experts against the odds. After reaching the Revolving Wheel Realm, he even fought against an ancient expert who had passed the Reincarnation Tribulation and gained the upper hand!"
"The number one expert in the Four Great Mysterious Domains? Gasp!"
A murmur began to spread through the crowd. Many people might not have reacted much to the name Sword Saint, but the title of the number one expert in the Four Great Mysterious Domains was undeniable. Even the Hall Master of the Darkness Hall willingly conceded to this number one expert, making the title incredibly intimidating.
Coupled with numerous legendary achievements, countless experts in the Chaotic Demon Sea remembered the name Sword Saint. He was an absolutely untouchable expert, a powerhouse whose combat strength surpassed even the Reincarnation Realm.
Therefore, after clearly knowing that this Lin Dong was a genius from the family of the number one expert in the Four Great Mysterious Domains, everyone's gaze towards Lin Dong changed significantly.
Even Xie Yan, a genius from the Evil Wind Cave Heaven, felt a little apprehensive after hearing this. Just now, Xie Yan had been preparing to compete with Lin Dong. After all, the Gu Family and the Evil Wind Cave Heaven had some unpleasantness. Although he didn't dare to offend the Gu Family outright, Xie Yan dared to make things difficult for them.
But after hearing about Lin Dong's background and recalling his master's previous actions, Xie Yan immediately extinguished those thoughts.
After Lin Dong made his bid, seeing that no one else intended to compete with him, he cupped his fist at the surrounding experts and said with a smile.
"Thank you all for your consideration. Lin Dong, on behalf of the Gu Family, thanks everyone."
Since others were giving him face, Lin Dong would naturally return the favor. Moreover, he now had to take care of the Gu Family a little, making more friends with the various forces in the Chaotic Demon Sea. Otherwise, once he and Little Marten left the Chaotic Demon Sea, the Gu Family's situation might not be very good.
"Young Master Lin Dong has bid six million, is there anyone else who wants to bid? If not, then this mysterious dried corpse will belong to Young Master Lin Dong."
Tang Zhen also said with a smile, not even going through the usual procedure of calling the price three times, but symbolically asking a question before preparing to bring down the hammer.
"Since no one is bidding, then this..."
"Seven million!"
A crisp voice with a hint of jiao ruo suddenly entered everyone's ears, causing many to be stunned.
"Who is this person? Are they courting death? How dare they not give the Gu Family any face?"
"Even the Sky Merchant Pavilion is giving the Gu Family face, preparing to end the bidding directly. How dare this person be so bold?"
After reacting, many people felt that the bidder was extremely audacious, daring not to give face to the rising Gu Family.
After hearing the voice, many people also frowned subconsciously, because the voice sounded somewhat familiar. They even turned their heads to look, only to see that it was a VIP room.
"Wait, this voice, doesn't it sound like the Sky Merchant Pavilion's young miss, Miss Tang Dongling?"
"Hmm? This..."
"That's Miss Tang Dongling; I just saw her leading three mysterious people into that VIP room."
Immediately, many people looked at each other, wondering what the Sky Merchant Pavilion was up to. On one side, Tang Zhen represented the Sky Merchant Pavilion, wanting to give the Gu Family some face. On the other side, Miss Tang Dongling was publicly bidding against the Gu Family.
Could it be that this was deliberately arranged by the Sky Merchant Pavilion to drive up the price? Or was the Sky Merchant Pavilion intentionally suppressing the Gu Family? Was the previous action also a deliberate arrangement to humiliate the Gu Family?
Compared to the wild speculations of the countless people on the Suspended Plaza, Tang Zhen, standing on the auction stage, felt a bit strange. Others might not know the identities of those three mysterious people, but how could Tang Zhen not know?
But now, those two adults who were clearly close to Lin Dong were deliberately bidding against Lin Dong. What was going on? And it was his daughter who was announcing the bids...
In the next moment, a glint flashed in Tang Zhen's eyes. The key was his daughter's bidding. He guessed that the three adults probably didn't want to be recognized, so they had his daughter bid against Lin Dong. The purpose was either for amusement or because that adult wanted to teach Lin Dong a lesson and vent some anger for their disciple.
Tang Zhen had heard the big news recently about the Gu Family using their entire family fortune as dowry to marry the Gu Family's twin beauties to the Lin Dong and Lin Diao brothers. And that adult's disciple didn't seem to have officially entered the family yet.
After figuring all this out, the smile on Tang Zhen's face grew even wider, and he quickly spoke up.
"This distinguished guest has bid seven million Profound Essence Pills. Young friend Lin Dong, what do you think?"
Lin Dong, who had just cupped his fist in greeting to the others before taking his seat, looked a little embarrassed. Who would have thought that the slap in the face would come so quickly?
Of course, none of this was important. What was important was that he was determined to get the Devouring Corpse. So, after the person in the VIP room made their bid, Lin Dong took a deep breath and quickly said,
"Eight million Profound Essence Pills!"
"Nine million!"
As soon as Lin Dong finished speaking, Tang Dongling's voice followed, as if she would match whatever he bid, making Lin Dong's expression turn a little ugly.
"Yan, are you sure that no one but me can activate this Devouring Corpse?"
"Nonsense. This ownerless Devouring Corpse must be re-smelted and imprinted with the Devouring Ancestor Symbol. Otherwise, it's impossible to move it. Ordinary people's spiritual imprints would be directly devoured upon entering the Devouring Corpse's body, leaving nothing behind."
Yan explained softly, but there was also a hint of doubt in its tone. It didn't quite understand who would be bidding against Lin Dong like this.
"Ten million Profound Essence Pills!"
Lin Dong took a deep breath after hearing this, then quoted again. As soon as he finished speaking, a chorus of gasps rang out around him.
Ten million Profound Essence Pills was no small sum. Even the Gu Family couldn't just take it out casually. Not to mention that the Gu Family didn't have a deep foundation, even if they had enough, they couldn't squander it like this.
"Eleven million!"
Tang Dongling's voice rang out again, still so calm, even with a hint of teasing, making Lin Dong feel annoyed.
"Fifteen million Profound Essence Pills. Miss Tang Dongling, and the other guests in the VIP room, would you please give Lin Dong some face and let me have this item?"
However, Lin Dong wasn't overwhelmed. The guests in the VIP room were so mysterious, and even had Tang Dongling personally accompanying them, indicating that their origins were extraordinary. He didn't want to offend them easily.
But facing Lin Dong's concession, Tang Dongling chuckled and replied with a smile.
"Sorry, Young Master Lin Dong. The guest said that since it's an auction, the highest bidder wins. The guest has bid twenty million Profound Essence Pills. If Young Master Lin Dong is willing to continue bidding, you can try. Maybe the guest will think the auction price is too high and give up."
Lin Dong took a deep breath, his burning gaze seeming to penetrate the walls of the VIP room to see the scene inside. However, he couldn't see anything. In the end, he could only make one last attempt.
"Twenty-five million Profound Essence Pills! If you are still willing to bid, then it's yours."
"Young Master Lin Dong, I'm sorry. The guest has bid twenty-six million Profound Essence Pills."
Inside the VIP room, Bo Xuan watched Lin Dong's frustrated and exasperated appearance, unable to vent his feelings, and the corners of his mouth curled up. If the formation wasn't active right now, and the sound would be transmitted, Bo Xuan would have couldn't help but burst out laughing.
After so long, it was finally this little brat's turn to suffer. Hmph, letting this little brat abduct his precious disciple, and even making his precious disciple angry, serves him right!