Ding Huan had not the slightest intention of being low-key as his Divine Will directly broke through Box No. 19 and landed on a man in black.

From his aura, he judged him to be at the fifth step of the Great Dao, in the Wuque Saint Realm, not stronger than Qi Sha.

Ding Huan was certain of this cultivation strength; he definitely wouldn't dare bring the Dao Pearl here to fish for trouble.

It seemed that this guy was just a lackey.

Ding Huan's Divine Will had already pierced through the man's Protecting Array, and he was even hoping this guy would try to teach him a lesson.

To his surprise, the man did not threaten him.

Not only did he not threaten him, but when Ding Huan called out the price of two top-grade Dao Veins, the man in black didn't continue to raise the bid.

As for the others in the hall and the other boxes, none of them raised the bid either.

Firstly, because two top-grade Dao Veins weren't cheap, and secondly, everyone knew that this item was not something to be bought.

Seeing the man in black's conflicted and annoyed expression, Ding Huan grew even more puzzled, as this was the emotion of a true bidder, not someone who was fishing for trouble.

"Two top-grade Dao Veins, first call... Two top-grade Dao Veins, second call..."

Hearing the auctioneer woman begin the countdown, Ding Huan was even more confused about where the problem lay.

Under normal circumstances, someone fishing for trouble wouldn't just give him the Dao Pearl but instead, mark him as the bidder and later seek an opportunity to intercept him.

How could it be that under these circumstances, would this Dao Pearl really be his for just two Dao Veins?

This was something Ding Huan had not anticipated.

Ding Huan's intention was to continue bidding up to ten Dao Veins, which was his financial limit.

If the other party continued to outbid him at ten Dao Veins, he would stop raising the price.

After all, as the other party is fishing, they would surely come to look for him.

If the other party didn't raise the bid, he would take the Dao Pearl and, at that point, the other party would still come to find him.

Spending ten Dao Veins to buy might not just be a Dao Pearl, but no matter how he looked at it, it seemed worthwhile.

To receive no further bids at just two top-grade Dao Veins was something Ding Huan hadn't expected.

The office responsible for the Gods Trading Building Auction.

Steward Yan Qianshan's face was as dark as night because of Ding Huan's actions, which were disrupting the reputation of the auction.

This was not the first or second time that a Dao Pearl had been used to fish at the auction, and people had always cooperated happily.

This time it was disrupted by the auction's own participant, and if they were to come knocking, what would that lead to?

"Hurry, let's take action and intercept the Dao Pearl first." Although Yan Qianshan knew Qi Sha had no standing in the Gods Trading Building, once the item fell into Qi Sha's hands, it wouldn't be easy to retrieve.

"Steward Yan, if we take action and the Dao Pearl wasn't brought by Lord Ju for fishing, wouldn't we suffer a huge loss?"

A female cultivator cautiously expressed.

Yan Qianshan was taken aback. How could the Dao Pearl not have been brought by Ju Chen?

Besides Ju Chen, who else would use a Dao Pearl to fish at the auction?

He understood the implication of his subordinate's words: if this Dao Pearl were just a usual item put up for auction, then the higher the bid they offered, the greater their loss,

since these bids would be given to the seller, and the auction house merely took a commission.

"Fool, what do you think a Dao Pearl is? Even for twenty top-grade Dao Veins, people would be scrambling for it.

Immediately verify whether this Dao Pearl was indeed brought by Lord Ju, quickly..."

As Yan Qianshan instructed for the investigation, the female auctioneer called out the third and final time: "Two top-grade Dao Veins, third call, sold."

Without hesitation, Ding Huan took out two top-grade Dao Veins and pocketed the Dao Pearl.

With the Dao Pearl in hand, he immediately got up to leave.

Since this was fishing, the next step would surely be for them to intercept him.

At the same time, Yan Qianshan received the results.

It turned out that the Dao Pearl was not brought by Ju Chen for fishing; it was simply consigned for auction by an ordinary Great Dao practitioner, who would come to collect the profits from the auction.

The auction house, due to an error, had assumed this Dao Pearl was sent by Ju Chen for fishing because Ju Chen had done this before, establishing a seamless understanding.

"Steward, the Dao Pearl has been taken by Qi Sha, and Qi Sha seems to be leaving the auction house." Even the supervising cultivator at the auction realized that a blunder had occurred.

Had it been known that this Dao Pearl wasn't brought by Ju Chen for fishing, the auction house would have certainly taken it for themselves instead of making such promotional efforts and then auctioning it off at the low price of two Dao Veins.

"Quickly go stop Qi Sha and ask him to discuss the matter at the Gods Trading Building..."

Before Yan Qianshan could finish speaking, a flying sword suddenly appeared in the Void.

Yan Qianshan's expression slightly shifted, and he raised his hand to catch the flying sword.

An all-too-familiar voice came through: "Steward Yan, I heard your trading building auction had a Dao Pearl this time? I, Ju Chen, am willing to offer ten top-grade Dao Veins, plus a favor, to take this Dao Pearl.

Of course, if the price is not suitable, Steward Yan can tell me directly, as I will soon be arriving at the Tao City of the Gods trading building..."

This voice belonged to Ju Chen, and Yan Qianshan's expression grew darker.

"Who informed Ju Chen?"

"I assumed it was Lord Ju's, so I inquired with Lord Ju first..." The responsible cultivator's face turned somewhat pale, knowing he had made a mistake.

This Dao Pearl was an internal matter of the Gods Trading Building, but now that Ju Chen knew about it, it was no longer just an internal affair.

"Idiot."

Yan Qianshan slapped the responsible cultivator, sending him flying, and said, "Quickly bring Qi Sha here and tell him that it's an important discussion with the Trading Building."

No matter what the outcome, this Dao Pearl cannot fall into Qi Sha's hands.

Just as Ding Huan stepped out of the auction venue, two people blocked Qi Sha's path.

Both were Saints of Words. Although Ding Huan transformed into Qi Sha, he did not obtain Qi Sha's memories; he didn't recognize the two.

However, from their attire, Ding Huan could guess that these two guys also belonged to the Gods' Trading House.

"Greetings to Holy Guardian Qi." The two Saints of Words bowed respectfully.

Ding Huan said lightly, "What is the matter? Speak directly."

"Steward Yan invites Holy Guardian Qi to return to the Trading Building for a discussion on important matters," one quickly said with a bow.

To be honest, although everyone was part of the Gods' Trading House and knew that Qi Sha was merely a weapon used by the Gods' Trading House to threaten others, they still felt apprehensive when they saw Qi Sha.

"Who is this Steward Yan? Does he think he can summon me, Qi Sha?" Ding Huan's tone was icy.

In reality, Yan Qianshan really couldn't summon Qi Sha. Both were at the fifth step of the Great Dao, and their roles were entirely different. Qi Sha didn't need to pay attention to Yan Qianshan.

"But..."

That cultivator at the fourth step of the Great Dao still wanted to say something, but Ding Huan slapped him away.

"Begone."

This Saint of Words was slapped by Ding Huan, crashing into the Protecting Array of the auction, causing it to tremble.

Half of his face was slapped away by Ding Huan.

The commotion attracted many cultivators on the street.

Seeing that it was Qi Sha, the Killing God, who took action, they weren't too surprised.

Qi Sha was attacking someone from the Gods' Trading House. If it had been an outsider, Qi Sha might have killed them already.

Killing isn't allowed in Tao City, but it depends on who it is. If Qi Sha kills someone here, it will be downplayed and ignored.

"But, Fellow Daoist Qi!" A cheerful voice rang out, and a thin man in a Holy Dao Robe descended from the Void, landing in front of Ding Huan.

Ding Huan squinted his eyes slightly.

Flying is not allowed in Tao City. This guy flew in from outside, completely disregarding the city's rules, indicating his extraordinary background.

And judging by his cultivation...

He seems to have just stepped into the sixth step of the Great Dao, the realm of the True Saint; his Dao Rhythm is highly unstable, clearly indicating his cultivation hasn't firmly settled yet.

In such a situation, he should immediately retreat into seclusion to stabilize his cultivation. Otherwise, the instability of the Great Dao could cause him to regress.

Regressing in cultivation is still acceptable; if he's not careful, it could damage his foundation.

A guy who just achieved the sixth step of the Dao, and hasn't even stabilized his Words of Dao, rushed out eagerly.

If not for the Dao Pearl, Ding Huan couldn't think of another reason.

This guy must have been teleported. To dare to enter Tao City under such circumstances, the only reason is that this guy feels very secure.

He believes he is very safe in Tao City, that no one would dare to threaten him or make a move against him there.

"What business do you have with me, Qi?" Ding Huan thought to himself, could this person be the one using the Dao Pearl as bait?

His manner of appearing didn't match.

Baiting with a Dao Pearl wouldn't intercept him in Tao City; at least they should wait until he's outside the city.

Besides, using a Dao Pearl for bait, people from the auction wouldn't show up. Once they appear, it would damage the auction's reputation.

Even if Qi Sha was part of the Gods' Trading House, it wouldn't be permissible.

"Fellow Daoist Qi, I am Ju Chen, the lord of the Yishuang Territory of the Gods Hall. I'd like to discuss something with you. Could you come to the Rest Building of the Gods?"

Ju Chen's tone was very courteous, placing Qi Sha in an esteemed position.

The reason for this is that Ju Chen thought Qi Sha was aware that this was a Dao Pearl accidentally taken for auction.

Others might not know, but it seemed normal for Qi Sha to know.

Qi Sha is one of the Holy Guardians of the Gods' Trading House, so even if baiting, it wouldn't include him.

What he didn't know was that, even Steward Yan had only just heard of this matter.

Ding Huan had transformed into Qi Sha and purchased the Dao Pearl purely by misunderstanding.

Ding Huan's original intent was to lure out the person fishing, and then counterattack.

Fortunately, though the process differed, the outcome remained the same.

The person fishing did appear, but unlike before, they didn't plan for a double-cross.

After all, they hadn't even cast a bait this time.

Ju Chen?

Ding Huan immediately remembered. He knew this guy.

Back then, Geng Yuan said Ju Chen from the Gods Hall had acquired eight Dao Pearls.

So, it was you fishing, wasn't it? What a coincidence.

"Oh, it's Lord Ju. Apologies, I'm quite busy today and couldn't find time to go to the Rest Building. How about you give me a place, and after I finish my tasks, I'll visit. How does that sound?"

Ding Huan did not hesitate in refusing.

Ju Chen's face turned unsightly. So far, he had been courteous to the Gods' Trading House, but the Gods' Trading House gave him no face at all.