Everyone was shocked when they heard what Ding Fan said. Obviously, they hadn't imagined that someone who looked so quiet would suddenly offer twenty thousand Spirit Stones, then thirty thousand Spirit Stones in his only statement. This is a bit too unbelievable, isn't it? That's thirty thousand Spirit Stones, just casually mentioned!

Everyone turned to look at Ding Fan, as if looking at a monster. If before, people weren't sure whether he had falsely reported the bid of twenty thousand Spirit Stones and assumed the organizers might kill him, now that he suddenly proposed a price of thirty thousand, it was simply suicidal; he was surely doomed this time!

"Is this guy out of his mind? Does he think this is child's play? Just mentioning a price of thirty thousand Spirit Stones like that, isn't that courting death?"

"Fool, he might meet a tragic end soon!"

"No matter how interested he is in that beauty Qing Mei, he can't act so recklessly!"

"Someone's about to regret this decision..."

"..."

For a moment, everyone looked at Ding Fan with a mix of scorn and pity, clearly considering him a man who wouldn't live much longer...

"Are you kidding me? Host, I seriously doubt his financial capability. That kid must be falsely inflating the bidding price!"

The Muscular Man erupted in anger when he heard Ding Fan's words, suddenly slamming the table and pointing at Ding Fan, angrily addressing the middle-aged auction host. Clearly, he couldn't let Ding Fan continue like this. If Ding Fan kept raising the bid only to end up not paying, losing his life would be a minor issue; the real problem would be the unnecessary expense on his end. This wasn't about just a few tens of thousands, and who knew how long things would spiral with this fool.

The middle-aged host saw the Muscular Man's reaction and felt hesitant. Even though he wanted to proceed, the man who could readily come up with tens of thousands or even over twenty thousand Spirit Stones was not an ordinary figure. Continuing might mean offending him.

The host couldn't help but glance at an elder who was sitting calmly in front of a screen, his eyes filled with inquiry. The host knew he couldn't make a decision on his own; this needed the elder's authority. The elder saw the host's gaze and raised his chin slightly in Ding Fan's direction, filled with suspicion.

The elder was from the largest Sect organizing this auction. Even though the middle-aged man was the one hosting, any major decisions or final calls had to be made by the elder. The elder, with his white hair and rosy face, was evidently a result of cultivation.

The elder was at the Spirit Severing Initial Stage, possessing several hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones himself. But even as someone of his stature, he knew that, apart from the Sect master, no older or disciple of the Sect would possess that many Spirit Stones.

Doubts filled the elder's mind regarding Ding Fan. Though he believed a cultivator could potentially possess millions of Spirit Stones, having seen quite a bit himself, those who could were either of higher cultivation than him or of extraordinarily wealthy backgrounds.

Yet, when the elder looked at Ding Fan, he seemed young, unlikely to surpass his own cultivation level, and wore very ordinary attire, not at all like someone from a wealthy family. Yet, he bid twice, once twenty thousand, once thirty thousand, showing no emotion, making the elder unsure if he was bluffing, even though he didn't seem like someone who could produce so many Spirit Stones.

Due to the nature of the auction and to avoid offending the Muscular Man, the elder decided the host should verify whether Ding Fan could truly produce such a number of Spirit Stones. If not, hmph... the elder's lips curled into a sinister smile, his eyes emanating killing intent.

"Sir, since you've bid thirty thousand Spirit Stones, we have a rule that bids reaching or exceeding this amount need verification. Sir, please demonstrate that you indeed possess these Spirit Stones."

At this moment, the host, having come up with an excellent excuse, addressed Ding Fan with a courteous tone but with a gleam of disdain in his eyes, evidently unimpressed, presuming Ding Fan wasn't actually capable of producing thirty thousand Spirit Stones.

"Ha! Let's see how he handles this. He's about to expose himself soon enough!"

"If you're bold at such an auction, be ready to pay the price of decapitation!"

"He'll probably be carried out shortly..."

"..."

Upon hearing the host's words, everyone sported expressions of schadenfreude, looking at Ding Fan with disdain and contempt...

The luxuriously-dressed, very Muscular middle-aged man witnessed the scene unfold with a satisfied, vicious grin. If Ding Fan was truly bluffing, even if the organizers didn't execute him, the Muscular Man wouldn't let him get away!

Gusu Qingwen couldn't help but be startled, coldly gazing at the people below the stage, a trace of despair flashing through her heart. Yet she couldn't help but glance at Ding Fan twice, at this moment he was staring intensely at her, momentarily ignoring the sounds around him, blind to all else.

Gusu Qingwen cast a resentful glance at Ding Fan before looking elsewhere, knowing in her heart that she would never let anyone have her. When the time came for her to die, regardless of how many spirit stones they spent, it had nothing to do with her...

"Sir? Did you hear what I said?"

The host noticed Ding Fan's lack of reaction, not hiding his surprise in his heart, yet he was somewhat annoyed. Could it be that Ding Fan was pretending not to hear? Constraining his own anger, the host spoke politely to Ding Fan once more.

Watching Gusu Qingwen's glance, Ding Fan felt a sudden pang in his heart, unwilling to attend to the gazes from the surrounding people.

Seeing Ding Fan's continued lack of response, the host's anger boiled over, his face turning entirely gloomy. He then turned to the Nascent Soul cultivators guarding the door, gesturing for them to take direct action. Since Ding Fan refused to cooperate openly, he had no choice but to resort to forceful measures, to demonstrate that this was not a place where anyone could behave recklessly.

The Nascent Soul soldiers had already been watching Ding Fan for some time, evidently having tolerated him for long enough. Seeing his demeanor, they knew he was merely grandstanding. Now, upon receiving the order, they marched aggressively towards Ding Fan, their armor occasionally emitting crisp sounds, evoking an uneasy feeling.

Witnessing this scene, the crowd quickly distanced themselves from Ding Fan, fearing they might be accidentally harmed when the cultivators started fighting. Simultaneously, they looked upon Ding Fan with smug, disdainful expressions, thinking: If you wish to act recklessly here, you will have to pay the price...

In the eyes of the crowd, the armored Nascent Soul cultivators quickly reached Ding Fan's side.

Ding Fan calmly shifted his gaze from Gusu Qingwen to the Nascent Soul cultivators, who couldn't suppress a chill running through their bodies, stunned and bewildered. They couldn't comprehend why a mere look from Ding Fan instilled such fear in them.

As the Nascent Soul cultivators prepared to resist Ding Fan's gaze and charge at him, Ding Fan casually pulled out a storage bag, causing fright among the Nascent Soul cultivators. Yet soon enough, their faces contorted again in determination as they prepared to assault Ding Fan.

Just then, Ding Fan overturned the storage bag, and countless spirit stones tumbled out, clattering onto the floor.

Clatter, clatter, clatter...

The Nascent Soul cultivators froze at the scene, utterly shocked as the spirit stones rapidly covered the ground beneath them in an overwhelming quantity. These Nascent Soul cultivators had never seen so many spirit stones in their entire lives. Even if not totaling thirty thousand spirit stones, it was certainly close to twenty-nine thousand. And at that moment, Ding Fan continued pouring out spirit stones.

The crowd was dumbfounded by the scene. No one expected Ding Fan to genuinely possess so many spirit stones. To think he appeared to be just a young man in his early twenties was simply unbelievable! The crowd gaped wordlessly.

The entire auction hall fell silent, with only the sound of spirit stones hitting the ground echoing throughout. The crowd was completely stunned.

The muscular middle-aged man clad in fine attire watching earlier was utterly shocked by the scene before him, unable to believe that Ding Fan indeed possessed so many spirit stones. It was simply unimaginable! The muscular man suddenly felt deflated, speechless.

The middle-aged host witnessing Ding Fan's actions was also momentarily speechless, staring at the large pile of spirit stones on the ground as if his eyes would pop out in astonishment. He had never imagined this young cultivator could truly own such a quantity of spirit stones. Evidently, the spirit stones spread across the floor numbered thirty thousand!

The host felt a chill in his heart, deeply regretting his earlier behavior. Watching Ding Fan now, he knew Ding Fan was no ordinary person. How else could he casually produce so many spirit stones at such a tender age? Remembering his previous demeanor towards Ding Fan, his heart filled with remorse!

The elder who had been calmly seated behind the screen saw this scene, his expression freezing in shock, never imagining Ding Fan might possess so many spirit stones. Ding Fan was presumably the heir of an exceptionally wealthy family, capable of producing so many spirit stones with ease.

To possess thirty thousand spirit stones, even if it were his sect, they would have to carefully calculate to produce such a number. It's far beyond what his sect would earn in a year...

"Is it enough?"

Ding Fan paid no attention to the crowd's reactions, asking calmly. He then stood, walked to the stage, and held the hand of the somewhat shocked Gusu Qingwen, addressing the host and others:

"Whoever wants to compete, come forward. I will accompany you to the end!"

The crowd was astounded by Ding Fan's words. Apparently, thirty thousand spirit stones had not reached Ding Fan's limit...