Eternal Life: I Can Sell Everything

Chapter 245: Chapter 241: Innumerable Lives and Deaths in a Single Flick

Song Ciwan merely lifted her hand and flicked a finger.

With that flick, a thread of fire shot from her fingertip.

It was an exceedingly fine thread of fire, yet it moved with the speed of dawning light, a flash of motion gone in an instant.

In the space of a breath, in a single moment, the thread of fire snaked through several points.

First, it pierced the smoke released by the Gourd Magical Artifact. A series of hisses rang out where it passed, and countless fine flecks of ash rained down from the suddenly dissipating smog.

Next, the thread of fire passed through the saber-wielding Martial Artist rushing toward them. The Martial Artist froze, and his saber shattered. THUD! He pitched forward, collapsed to the ground, and died.

Then, the thread of fire coiled around the man preparing the Talisman. Before he could even truly unleash the Talisman Paper in his hand, the fiery thread pierced his throat. His head lolled to one side, and he too fell to the ground.

Finally, the thread of fire returned to the man holding the Gourd Magical Artifact. It wrapped around him, and as it tightened, it sliced through his neck. His head hit the ground before his body did.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

In the blink of an eye, all three assailants were dead.

Life and death had been decided with the flick of a finger. It all happened so fast that Xie Yunxiang’s cry of alarm was still caught in his throat, so fast that some onlookers in the distance hadn’t even had time to blink.

It had all begun, and it was already over.

Song Ciwan flicked her sleeve. A gentle breeze swept up everything on the ground—be it the shattered Magical Artifacts and Talismans or the enemies’ corpses—and pulled it all into the Heaven and Earth Scale, making it vanish from sight.

A thread of flame snaked out once more, burning away every lingering trace of their presence.

In an instant, Song Ciwan spirited Xie Yunxiang away.

The Wind Manipulation Technique carried them far away. It was as if they had been there, yet also as if they had never been at all.

In the distance, pairs of eyes looked away. Someone said, horrified, "Where did that expert come from? How can anyone be that terrifying?"

Someone else added, their voice trembling with lingering fear, "See? The wisest way to protect yourself is to never strike rashly. You never know who you might provoke..."

Yet another person said with pity, "Cultivation isn’t easy. Since she’s an expert, why be so graceless? Even if she met such blind fools, wouldn’t a small punishment to teach them a lesson have been enough? Why was it necessary to kill them?"

...

From a high floor of the Seven Treasures Tower, others had taken in all the chaos unfolding below.

Every time an auction concluded, similar ambushes and killings would erupt all over.

The Seven Treasures Tower guaranteed that no one would be killed for their treasures within its walls, but once outside, they were no longer responsible.

At this very moment, some failed their ambushes and died, while others succeeded, and their targets died.

Some just snatched the goods and fled. Many more conflicts were happening out of sight. Who died, who lived, who gained, who lost... no one knew.

Seven Treasures Tower, Fifth Layer.

Du Xingheng’s gaze lingered on the spot where Song Ciwan had disappeared, and for a long time, she did not look away.

Not far behind her, a person sat cross-legged on a Pillow, a low table set before them. Steam gently rose from the tea on the table.

A pair of long, slender hands moved, rinsing the leaves, boiling the water, and steeping the tea. The motions were delicate and fluid, like drifting clouds and flowing water.

Looking at those hands alone, one would never imagine that the tea maker was a white-haired old man.

With his crane-white hair and youthful face, he had the air of a transcendent immortal.

The old man spoke slowly, "My dear niece, how did you find hosting the auction? Was it fun?"

Du Xingheng leaned against the window, one hand raised. A miniature Red Tassel Spear hovered in her palm, spinning so fast that it seemed to create a faint, whistling wind.

"It wasn’t fun, but it was a little fun!" Du Xingheng said, spinning the spear. Her tone was careless, possessing a nonchalance that completely contradicted her murderous aura.

"Uncle Jin Ding, you said you had news of Penglai. You weren’t just trying to trick my master, were you? As I see it, your Pinglan City is nothing special. Penglai is passing through, and it would stop here? Why don’t I believe that?"

Master Jin Ding sighed. "My dear niece, you must know about the Beichen Sword Immortal’s last appearance, yes? He has always been chasing the World-Outside Immortal Mountain, yet not long ago, he appeared in Cangling County. How could these two things be unrelated?"

Du Xingheng shot him a sidelong glance and arched an eyebrow. "Uncle, if all you have is such a far-fetched connection, forget convincing my master. Heh, I’m afraid you can’t even convince a simple brute like your niece!"

As she spoke, she picked up a cup of tea from the table and drained it in one gulp. "Uncle, if you have something good, you should just show it. Otherwise, there’s no reason to stay in Cangling County. Rather than waste my time here, why don’t I go play at the Four Great Demon Passes?"

Master Jin Ding shook his head. "Young people... My dear niece, come closer..."

Du Xingheng leaned in. Master Jin Ding’s lips moved slightly as he sent a secret voice transmission.

By this time, Song Ciwan had already taken Xie Yunxiang far away, a full ten li from the Seven Treasures Tower.

A few moments later, she had traveled another ten li, and Wangjiang Mountain was now in sight.

Half of Song Ciwan’s attention, however, was on the Heaven and Earth Scale.

During the ambush, Song Ciwan had killed three people with a flick of her finger and, in return, had harvested an unknown number of qi clusters.

[Death Qi. From the death of an Early-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator. Two jin, one tael. Can be traded.]

[Death Qi. From the death of a Mid-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator. Three jin, two taels. Can be traded.]

[Death Qi. From the death of an Innate Second Transformation Opening Realm Martial Artist. Three jin, six taels. Can be traded.]

[human desires. From the Hate, Hate, Hate of an Innate Second Transformation Opening Realm Martial Artist. One jin, nine taels. Can be traded.]

[human desires. From the Hate, Fury, and Resentment of a Mid-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator. Two jin, three taels. Can be traded.]

[human desires. From the Hate, Bitterness, and Sorrow of an Early-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator. One jin, six taels. Can be traded.]

...

Then came a cluster of qi from Xie Yunxiang. It arrived late, a delayed reaction to the events.

[human desires. From the Shock, Terror, and Xie of a Qi Transformation Stage Cultivator. One jin, one tael. Can be traded.]

Xie Yunxiang’s qi finally began to wane. Although it was clear he was still very emotional, his emotional qi clusters were no longer being released in such large quantities.

Besides the pile of qi, Song Ciwan had also harvested the three Cultivators’ bodies and all the belongings they carried.

Among them were Magical Artifacts, Talismans, Primordial Pearls, and Primordial Longevity Pearls, as well as various other sundries not worth mentioning one by one.

All in all, it was an unexpected windfall. Song Ciwan stored everything away, planning to go back and trade it all in later.

She escorted Xie Yunxiang to the foot of Wangjiang Mountain and then said her goodbyes.

Xie Yunxiang expressed his immense gratitude, and not daring to delay any longer, he hurried off to rent a residence cave and prepare for his breakthrough.

Before they parted, Song Ciwan gave him a bottle containing three Red Sun Pills to aid his breakthrough.

Xie Yunxiang was moved. "Brother Xin, I will never forget this great kindness."

Song Ciwan gave him a little push, not wanting to waste time on pleasantries.

The two quickly parted ways. Song Ciwan took a detour home and, with her bountiful harvest, began her own Cultivation.