The Imperial Grand Auction House stood majestically in the center of Imperial Alchemy City, its seven-story architecture built from white marble layered with pure gold. Crystal lamps powered by high-grade spirit stones radiated dazzling light, illuminating the main hall, which could accommodate tens of thousands of visitors. That night, the atmosphere inside the building was extraordinarily packed and raucous. Royal nobles, imperial princes, high-level alchemists, and sect elders from every corner of the Tianyuan Continent filled the red velvet seats.
Yet behind the splendor and uproar of the Grand Auction, an intensely chilling atmosphere lay hidden. On the seventh floor—the highest VIP room, which directly overlooked the auction stage—three Great Sect Leaders hovered behind dark silk curtains. Prince Feng, the leader of the Heavenly God Sect, the leader of the Immortal Sword Sect, and the leader of the Green Cloud Sect spread their spiritual-sensing nets throughout the entire building. All around the structure, more than three thousand elite disciples and a hundred senior Golden Core Realm elders had disguised themselves as guards and visitors, ready to lock down every corner of the building as soon as the signal was given.
"Has that brat shown himself yet?" the Green Cloud Sect Leader whispered, his sharp eyes watching the people moving about on the floor below.
"Not yet," Prince Feng replied coldly as he turned the jade ring on his finger. "However, I'm certain he'll come. His arrogance and ambition to seize the map fragment belonging to his mother will lead him straight into this graveyard. The moment he steps onto the stage, activate the Ninth-Level Soul-Killing Array!"
Meanwhile, in the somewhat dim back row of seats, Xiao Chen sat calmly. His plain black robe made him look like an ordinary mortal guard. On his back, the cloth-wrapped God-Demon Sword trembled almost imperceptibly, responding to the primordial energy bound behind the auction stage.
"Master Ku," Xue Ling'er's voice echoed softly in Xiao Chen's mind. "The third map fragment is stored inside an ice-element jade box behind the stage. However, eighteen hundred soul-killing poison needles and dozens of Dantian-paralyzing spell threads have been set up around it."
Xiao Chen did not answer aloud. He merely raised the corners of his lips slightly, forming an exceedingly cold, mocking smile. Through his golden irises, hidden beneath the shadow of his hood, Xiao Chen could clearly see the energy pathways of the Ninth-Level Soul-Killing Array surrounding the auction house. To other practitioners, that formation was a death trap with no way out, but to Xiao Chen, who had mastered the *Ancient God-Demon Art*, its pathways were nothing more than thin, fragile threads.
*GONGGG!*
The booming clang of a gigantic bronze gong reverberated through the auction hall, splitting the din and announcing the start of the climax. A beautiful woman in a tight red dress stepped onto the main stage with a captivating smile. She was the Great Alchemist Su Yao, the most renowned auctioneer in Imperial Alchemy City.
"Good evening, honored guests!" Su Yao's melodious voice echoed with the aid of a mystical amplification stone. "Tonight, we've finally arrived at the last and most eagerly awaited auction item! An ancient treasure discovered in the ruins of the ancient Tianyuan Continent... the Ancient Seal Map Fragment!"
Two burly guards lifted a glistening white jade box onto the auction table. The moment Su Yao opened its lid, a deep red radiance shot toward the ceiling, releasing an intensely dense primordial aura that left every visitor in the hall holding their breath in awe!
"This item cannot be purchased with ordinary spirit stones," Su Yao continued, her eyes gleaming mysteriously. "The three Great Sects, acting as the item's owners, have set a special condition: Anyone who wants this treasure must come onto the stage and hand over their head for inspection!"
Su Yao's bizarre announcement instantly sent the entire auction hall into confusion and uproar! The guests exchanged glances, realizing that something was wrong with this final auction item.
On the seventh floor, the three Great Sect Leaders smiled viciously. They knew that condition was a direct trigger meant to lure Xiao Chen into revealing himself.
In the back row, Xiao Chen slowly rose from his seat. His calm footsteps caused several people around him to turn and stare in astonishment.
"Thank you for your welcome and for helping gather all these items in one place," Xiao Chen's voice suddenly rang out, cutting through the entire din of the auction hall and overpowering the echo of Su Yao's voice.
That flat voice carried such tremendous golden Qi pressure that every pane of glass, crystal lamp, and jade cup inside the auction house shattered simultaneously!
*CRASHHH!*
"Who was that?!" the visitors screamed hysterically as they covered their bleeding ears.
Xiao Chen swept back the hood of his black robe, revealing his handsome, cold face and golden irises blazing like a pair of miniature suns. He looked directly toward the seventh floor, precisely at the three Great Sect Leaders standing behind the curtains.
"Xiao Chen... You really dared to show yourself, you demonic brat!" Prince Feng, the leader of the Heavenly God Sect, roared from the seventh floor. His voice seethed with fury. "Activate the Soul-Killing Array right now! Seal this entire building and chop this brat into minced meat!"
*BOOOOM!*
In an instant, thousands of glowing red spell symbols appeared along the walls, floors, and ceiling of the Imperial Grand Auction House. A gigantic blood-red protective energy dome enveloped the entire building, trapping tens of thousands of visitors inside. Thousands of spell threads and poison needles shot in from every direction, targeting every meridian in Xiao Chen's body!
"AAGHHH! Help! We've been trapped!" tens of thousands of auction guests shrieked hysterically as they scattered, trying to flee through the tightly sealed exits.
Amid the rain of poison needles and spell threads capable of crushing Golden Core Realm experts, Xiao Chen stood straight without shifting a single millimeter. He gripped the hilt of the God-Demon Sword on his back and slowly drew it out.
*SHIIINGGG!*
Blinding violet-gold light erupted from the blade of the God-Demon Sword, crushing all the poison needles and spell threads before they could even touch his robe! Xiao Chen's God-Demon Golden Core Pressure swept across the hall, causing the three thousand elite disciples of the three Great Sects who had been in disguise to vomit fresh blood and collapse to their knees!
"The three Great Sects..." Xiao Chen said coldly, his eyes flashing with killing intent powerful enough to freeze the soul. "Today, this Grand Auction will become a mass grave for every one of you!"
*BOOOOM!*
With a single horizontal slash of the God-Demon Sword, Xiao Chen split the auction stage and the building's floor in two, officially beginning the greatest massacre in the history of Imperial Alchemy City!