314 Coveting a Treasure
"Hundreds of years ago, the top two ancient clans that stood atop the northern continent, the Tu family and Yue family, were all suppressed by the King of Darkness."
"The Tu family is on its last legs, while the Yue family was eradicated by the King of Darkness, its name removed from history."
"This was the only one of the Eight Great Ancient Clans that had its name removed from the annals of history, the Yue family!"
Su Yu was shocked. The King of Darkness must be immensely powerful, to be able to defeat two families.
Of which, the Yue family was completely eradicated, its name vanishing from this world.
"The rest of the six great ancient clans have their territories in the eastern, southern and western continents, and are in constant conflict with the sub palaces of the Empire of Darkness," Hua Zhilan gravely said.
This conversation had revealed the secrets of the continent. Su Yu had learned a lot.
He had once thought that the Empire of Darkness was the unparalleled presence in the Zhenlong Continent.
Now he finally learned of the legends of the Eight Great Ancient Clans.
Tu Long had an embarrassed look, "Palace Master Zhilan is not wrong, a thousand years ago, the northern continent was occupied by the Tu and Yue families. They formed an alliance with the other six ancient clans, and fought against the Empire of Darkness together."
"A hundred years ago, the Empire of Darkness was under a combined siege by the Eight Great Ancient Clans, its situation dire. At the most critical moment, the King of Darkness cultivated a godly technique, fighting back the Eight Great Ancient Clans with immense power!"
"At the same time, he came to the northern continent and destroyed the Tu and Yue families! He regained control of the birthplace of the Empire of Darkness, the northern continent!"
"In the process, the Tu family initiated a surrender and was spared. But the King of Darkness ordered that no members of the Tu family were allowed to leave the Forest of Darkness, or they would face destruction! Anyue City is the furthest a person of the Tu family could travel from the forest."
"Anyue City, in reality, was established by the Tu family and the true governing authority of the city, albeit from the shadows."
"As for the Yue family, they were stubborn, and thus, were completely eradicated by the King of Darkness, their name removed from this world!"
"The following hundreds of years were the peak of the Empire of Darkness, to the point that there were sub palaces set up in the eastern, western, and southern continents. One could see how terrifying the King of Darkness was!"
"He lords over the Zhenlong Continent. The King of Darkness is unparalleled!"
Su Yu finished listening, his heart being in shock for the longest time.
What a farsighted, unparalleled King of Darkness!
He surpassed his predecessors and gained control of the entire continent.
Just who was he, to be able to be unparalleled within the Zhenlong Continent?
Su Yu wondered if he would be able to reach the level of the King of Darkness using the Nine-Dragon Cauldron?
Now that Su Yu understood, Hua Zhilan had a faint smile, "What are your thoughts, Junior Yin Yu?"
Su Yu had a glint in his eyes, "Hehe, the Tu family doesn't want us to attend, but we are going anyway!"
What he was anticipating was the chance to meet members of the Cabinet of the Nine Phoenixes. Even if he could not see Xianer in person, he could at least ask about Xianer's situation.
They had been away from each other for half a year and he wondered about Xianer's safety.
The master of the Cabinet of the Nine Phoenixes held her Phoenix of Death in high regard, and would definitely nurture her well. But with Xianer's personality, would she train seriously?
Could she be hiding and playing somewhere, bringing along some of her servants and causing a ruckus? Or could she... be missing him?
His lips formed a lonely smile. Su Yu felt a bitterness in his heart as he was thinking about Xianer.
As young and playful as Xianer was, could she be feeling lonely?
"Hehe, my thoughts exactly. The auction would be held three days later. The end of the auction will coincide with the full moon. We can then head to the training area." Hua Zhilan broke Su Yu's train of thoughts.
Su Yu retracted his strange expression, nodding as he said, "That's fine, let us rest here for the next two days."
Saying this, Su Yu looked at Tu Long, "You can go home now."
Tu Long let out a bitter laugh, "I was stubborn back then, and would rather have given up the status of a member of the Tu family, as well as the status of the Young Master of the Tu family, to see the world outside of the Forest of Darkness."
"How would I have the cheek to return to the Tu family now? I'll first follow you and see the Tu family auction. I could probably interact with some members of the Tu family and see if they still remember me. If they do, I shall return. But if they have already forgotten about me, then why return and cause them trouble?"
He was the young master of the Tu family?
The group was shocked!
They could not see how Tu Long had this kind of status.
The status of a Young Master from an Eight Great Ancient Clan was extraordinary!
But he ultimately gave up his status as a member of the Tu family. It was all in the past now.
The group rested within the inn.
Su Yu did not forget his cultivation while he rested.
Now that his Nine Fingers of Imaginary Thunder was at Stage One Peak, he was beginning to cultivate the second stage.
His Heaven's Son Gazing At Air had just broken through to Stage One Upper Class, still a distance away from Stage Two.
Finally, his Buddhist Saint's Eight Characters was merely a step away from breaking through into the Lower Class.
But weirdly, Su Yu's multiple breakthroughs in his cultivation level had not had an impact on the bottleneck he faced with the Buddhist Saint's Eight Characters.
It was as if there was a slow and long hurdle between the Beginner Class and the Lower Class of the technique.
The difficulty in cultivating this legendary level technique was much harder than an immortal level technique.
In these four days, Su Yu had made no headway.
He had merely further consolidated his Immortal Realm Level One Peak cultivation level. If there was a chance, he could try breaking through to Immortal Realm Level Two.
This was the night of the full moon, and also the day the Tu family auction was to take place.
Su Yu's group of four left the inn to head to the Tu family auction grounds at the center of Anyue City.
The entrance was heavily guarded. There were at least ten Immortal Realm fighters standing guard.
An elder with a head full of white hair was sitting behind a table at the entrance, patiently inspecting the item in his hand.
Su Yu walked forward. The elder did not raise his head, "Stop, hand over a deposit."
This was a common rule in many auctions, Su Yu said, "How much do I need to hand over?"
The guard relied without expression, "The more you hand over, the better your seat will be at the auction. You might even be able to get VIP seats."
If that was the case, Su Yu nodded, taking out a White Dragon Plant from within his robes.
This was something he got from the Ancient Xianyun Temple. It was able to increase the cultivation level of a person under Dragon Realm Level Three by a full level.
The elder still did not raise his head, instead sniffing lightly, "One White Dragon Plant, low class seat, put it on the table."
Su Yu was surprised by his powerful senses, allowing him to be able to tell that it was a White Dragon Plant, without even looking.
Whoosh ——
Su Yu took out a jade box, a fiery red phoenix feather silently laid within, circulating with a bright red colour.
Shreds of warm energy seeped out from the slits of the box.
The elder subconsciously took a whiff, his expression turning slightly rigid. He raised his head and placed his gaze on the jade box.
Fetching it over, he observed it carefully. His calm expression gradually changed as he said gravely, "This is... a Phoenix's feather!"
"Are you members of the Cabinet of the Nine Phoenixes? I do not remember them promising that they would enter the auction." The elder observed the four of them, his expression suspicious.
Clearly he was suspicious about the origins of the Phoenix Feather.
Su Yu's brows creased, "Can't I have the opportunity of obtaining a Phoenix Feather, even if I am not a member of the Cabinet of the Nine Phoenixes? Since I dared to take it out, I naturally am not afraid of people from the Cabinet of the Nine Phoenixes seeking trouble."
The elder had an unfriendly tone, "I do not care if you stole or lied to get this. What I am worried about is that people with unclear identities and motives would come into the auction to cause trouble!"
The group was furious. This elder had said some nasty words!
They had already reiterated that the Phoenix Feather had come from orthodox sources, but he insisted on branding Su Yu and the group as liars and cheaters.
Creasing his brows, Su Yu calmly said, "I'll ask you just one question, is the thing I presented enough for me to enter?"
For some reason, the elder was extremely unsympathetic to Su Yu and his group, "It is enough, but you cannot enter!"
"We, the Tu family, would not welcome people of low character like you." The elder was extremely biased, waving his sleeves as if he was chasing away flies, "Leave, whatever I say is final!"
Low character? Su Yu did not know how to communicate with such a stubborn old man.
These were the auction grounds of the Tu family, and he should not cause trouble, thus, he could only suppress his fury, "Alright, we shall not enter the auction grounds of the Tu family then, let's go."
This seeming surrender was only because Tu Long had signalled that there was another way to enter, without passing through this old man.
"I shall not send you off." The elder sat down, laughing in disdain.
He had seen too many people like Su Yu, acting cool after being rejected entry.
"Oh, you finished observing the Phoenix feather? If so, give it back to me." Su Yu grabbed toward the jade box on the table.
But Su Yu did not expect the elder to snatch it first, grabbing the jade box in his hand before casually putting it in his robes.
Su Yu's gaze turned cold, "What is the meaning of this?"
The elder did not raise his head, casually saying, "We, the Tu family, have the responsibility of confiscating items that have dubious origins!"
"I have said that this was an item I received from the master of the Cabinet of the Nine Phoenixes!" Su Yu's tone was ice cold.
The elder waved his hands in disgust, "You talk too much! I'll contact the Cabinet of the Nine Phoenixes and ascertain the origins of the item. If what you said is correct, I'll return it to you, come back in three days!"
He had forcefully snatched Su Yu's item, and still arrogantly asked Su Yu to come back and retrieve it three days later!
It was unknown whether or not he could take that item back from one of the Eight Great Ancient Clans in Anyue City.
Even if he could take it back, the Phoenix feather was limited to a one time use. How could he find it, if they had already used the item?
"My patience is wearing thin, I'll warn you one last time, hand it over!" Su Yu was burning with fury.
It looked like the elder had intentionally sought trouble with Su Yu in order to take the phoenix feather for himself!
To be so shameless in front of everyone. It was rarely seen, even by Su Yu's standards.
Pat ——
The elder suddenly slammed the table, rising to his feet, his face filled with disgust and impatience, "I do not wish to repeat myself! Scram! You low lifes!"
Seeing how Su Yu and his group stood in their original positions, with no intention of leaving, the elder turned and scolded, "Where are the guards?"
Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh ——
Ten Immortal Realm Level fighters suddenly appeared, surrounding the four of them.
The leader of the guards was a muscular man of Immortal Realm Level Two Lower Tier, "Elder Li, what is the matter?"
The elder that was addressed as Elder Li had a look of disgust, "These low lifes impersonated members of the Cabinet of Nine Phoenixes. I have only confiscated their loot. Chase them away. If they do not know any better, you can capture them too!"
The muscular man shot a cold glare at Su Yu, "What guts. I have seen many impersonators, but have never heard of someone that dared impersonate the Cabinet of Nine Phoenixes."
Su Yu remained silent, his expression ice cold.
They were in cahoots with each other. Su Yu naturally did not bother to argue. This problem could only be settled with fists.
"Hmph! You need not deny it, it's useless! Scram, immediately!" The muscular man took it that Su Yu would try to defend himself, lifting his hands without even looking at Su Yu.
Su Yu coldly looked up, his eyes filled with an icy killing intent, "You are asking for it!"