Chapter 93: Chapter 93: The Young Lady’s Invitation

With the Foundation Strengthening Pill sold for the sky-high price of thirty million,

the entire auction hall was in an uproar for quite some time.

Many were marveling at the sheer wealth of the buyer.

However, the auction hall soon fell quiet afterward.

Many had come specifically for a grand finale treasure like the Foundation Strengthening Pill.

Now that the main attraction had been sold, the rest of the attendees lost interest in the subsequent items.

Some even simply closed their eyes and dozed off right there in the hall.

Even Murong Xiangming’s eloquent, nonstop introductions of the various subsequent treasures were completely ignored.

As one might expect, the rest of the auction was practically dead in the water.

Only occasionally would an item spark a minor bidding war, and even then, none of them sold for a high price.

Jiang Chen sat in his chair, calmly watching it all unfold. He glanced at the auctioned items from time to time, but nothing appeared that truly interested him.

The auction finally drew to a close after the last item was sold for seven hundred thousand.

"Let’s go!"

Patriarch Bai Xiong of the Bai Family irritably yanked his son, Bai Shu, to his feet. He stood up in a huff and started to leave.

After all, he had come away with absolutely nothing.

He was furious.

Seeing the three members of the Jiang Family looking inexplicably delighted only fueled his rage.

He could only let out a snort and storm off.

As Bai Shu left, his eyes lingered on the stage where Murong Xiangming had already vanished.

The beauty was gone.

Unable to see her, Bai Shu shot a venomous glare at Jiang Chen before leaving resentfully.

Gradually, the Martial Cultivators began to file out of the hall.

"Let’s go."

"Time to collect our treasures."

Jiang Han said to Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen stood up as well and headed toward the front.

They still had to collect the items they’d won and pay the Treasure Elephant Pavilion for them.

The family of three arrived at the collection point, where a staff member from the Treasure Elephant Pavilion was already waiting.

"Please present your number paddle."

the staff member said to Jiang Han’s group.

Jiang Chen handed it over.

The Treasure Elephant Pavilion employee immediately broke into a smile.

"Hello, here are the items you won at the auction. Two in total."

As he spoke, he handed the Nether Spirit Flower, which Jiang Han had won, to Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen promptly passed it to his father, Jiang Han.

After they paid,

Jiang Chen furrowed his brow, not seeing the feather he had won.

Slightly annoyed, he asked, "Where’s my other item?"

He had only received the Nether Spirit Flower.

Just then, someone hurried over.

"Young Master Jiang Chen," he called out. "My apologies, I’m late."

Jiang Chen looked over in surprise. He recognized the newcomer as Lu Ming from the Treasure Elephant Pavilion, the one who had greeted him earlier.

Lu Ming seemed to sense Jiang Chen’s confusion and immediately explained, "Young Master Jiang Chen, if it’s convenient, our Young Miss would like to invite you to see her. She will personally hand over the item you won."

In truth, Lu Ming was also a bit puzzled. ’Why would the high and mighty Young Miss be so interested in Jiang Chen?’

Jiang Chen was taken aback.

He knew the "Young Miss" she was referring to was Murong Xiangming, the number one beauty of Hanwu City.

He fell silent, pondering.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yun and Jiang Han were both a little confused.

They knew very well that Murong Xiangming’s status was anything but ordinary.

And she actually wanted to meet their son?

After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Han said to Jiang Chen, "Since the Young Miss of the Treasure Elephant Pavilion is asking for you, you should go."

"Your mother and I will wait for you outside."

A glint flashed in Jiang Chen’s eyes. He didn’t just need to collect his feather; he also had to collect his thirty million crystals.

He turned to his parents. "Dad, Mom, you two should head back first. No need to wait for me."

"I’ll come back as soon as I’m finished here."

Jiang Han and Xiao Yun exchanged a glance, then nodded. After a few more words, they departed, heading back to the Jiang Family estate on their own.

Left with no choice, Jiang Chen followed Lu Ming.

In any case, if he was going to be doing business with the Treasure Elephant Pavilion, it was best to get acquainted with Murong Xiangming.

Besides, he was growing a little interested in her himself.

「Treasure Elephant Pavilion, Fifth Floor.」

Several people were seated together, deep in discussion. Among them was the Pavilion Master of the Treasure Elephant Pavilion, Master Tian Mu.

Murong Xiangming was also present, seated prominently among them.

Master Tian Mu looked toward Murong Xiangming and asked in a somewhat flattering tone, "Young Miss, you’ve had contact with Jiang Chen. Who do you think the mysterious Alchemist master supporting him could be?"

Jiang Chen’s Purple Gold Quality Foundation Strengthening Pill had instantly captured the Treasure Elephant Pavilion’s attention.

They had made inquiries through various channels but had come up with nothing about his mysterious master.

Now that the auction was over, their confusion had only deepened, and the speculation continued.

Murong Xiangming’s status in the Treasure Elephant Pavilion was extremely high. Everyone treated her with the utmost respect, even Pavilion Master Tian Mu, an expert who possessed a Martial King’s Cultivation.

Murong Xiangming’s shapely brows twitched slightly.

She finally shook her head. "Our investigators haven’t turned up anything. It seems his master is truly mysterious."

"I don’t know who he is, but his master is definitely no simple figure."

"Furthermore, to be able to refine a Purple Gold Quality, Second-Grade Foundation Strengthening Pill... according to the intelligence we’ve received from our superiors, the number of Alchemists capable of such a feat in all the Three Great Empires can be counted on one hand."

BOOM!

At that moment, a shockwave ran through the upper echelons of the Treasure Elephant Pavilion.

In all the Three Great Empires, you could count them on one hand.

That was simply terrifying. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Does that mean Jiang Chen’s master must be a Fourth-Grade Alchemist?"

Master Tian Mu asked, a hint of lingering fear in his voice.

There were indeed fewer than five Fourth-Grade Alchemists in the entire Three Great Empires.

Murong Xiangming nodded, but then suddenly shook her head.

"And this Fourth-Grade Alchemist is not one of the known Fourth-Grade Alchemists from within the Three Great Empires."

"It seems we are dealing with a mysterious, low-key, and unknown reclusive master."

This was the conclusion Murong Xiangming had reached based on all the available clues.

Of course, they would never guess that Jiang Chen’s "master" didn’t exist at all.

But without a doubt, this speculation made the Treasure Elephant Pavilion extremely wary of Jiang Chen.

Any Alchemist was a walking treasure trove, but also a terrifying existence.

Alchemists were almost always surrounded by followers with profound Cultivation.

Provoking an Alchemist was never a wise move.

Besides, the Treasure Elephant Pavilion had no quarrel with Jiang Chen, so there was no need to create one.

"Alright, that’s enough speculation," Murong Xiangming interrupted. "As for Jiang Chen, our Treasure Elephant Pavilion will do everything we can to befriend him."

"Leave this matter to me."

She cut off the pointless speculation and rose to her feet.

Her elegant figure, clad in white, was like a proud white peacock.

She exuded the air of a queen from head to toe.

The others had no choice but to drop the subject.

However, Master Tian Mu still said hesitantly, "Young Miss, is it really appropriate for you to personally receive Jiang Chen?"

"Someone else can handle it. After all, your identity cannot be known to too many people."

The implication was that he feared her identity would be exposed.

And it was true—her identity absolutely could not be revealed.

"It’s fine. I’ve already met Jiang Chen; he is not a man of sinister intentions."

"That settles it. Jiang Chen should be arriving shortly. I will go and meet him now."

Murong Xiangming stuck to her decision. She felt at ease about Jiang Chen.

Besides, an ordinary person would have no way of knowing her identity, so there was no real risk of a leak.

Jiang Chen was just someone from Hanwu City; he was even less likely to expose anything.

She wasn’t worried.