After Ye Ling concluded his visit to the Valley of Serenity and returned to Tianren City, everyone's days gradually returned to normal, and the auction was being meticulously prepared.
However, during this period, there had been no news from Balgo, and Ye Ling was unaware of the movements of the Seven Star Pillars, which prevented him from implementing his plans against them.
Meanwhile, Shi He and Old Yu had made little progress in locating the spatial rift.
Therefore, Ye Ling found himself with free time. He spent it teaching Ayu cultivation while awaiting the opening of the Bloodstone Ganoderma auction.
This day marked the most bustling day in the history of Tianren City.
Numerous renowned and influential powerhouses from Lingzhou gathered in Tianren City, causing property prices to skyrocket. Inns were fully booked, and even those at the Saint Emperor realm had to sleep on the streets!
During this time, some powerhouses, dissatisfied with their treatment in Tianren City, incited trouble, causing considerable disruption.
However, after Bai Ling effortlessly struck down the troublemakers, Tianren City immediately restored order, and the restless hearts of the powerhouses were calmed.
It was precisely because the Qingyue Sect had mobilized its entire force to maintain order in Tianren City that the auction could be organized smoothly. This significantly raised the expectations of the powerhouses for the auction, while also making them intensely curious about the identity of Ye Ling, the City Lord of Tianren City.
After all, anyone capable of commanding the submission of the Qingyue Sect Master could not possibly be an ordinary individual.
At the summit of the Tianren Tower.
Ye Ling stood alone on the balcony, calmly overlooking the bustling city below. His gaze remained fixed on an old man who was engaging in conversation and laughter with powerhouses from various factions.
This was the ancestor of the Moon Wheel Sacred Land, and the very reason for the auction's widespread fame—the Moon Wheel Ancestor.
The moment the Moon Wheel Ancestor entered Tianren City, Ye Ling sensed an extremely potent aura of dark power emanating from him.
It was clear that this Moon Wheel Ancestor was a subordinate of one of the Seven Star Pillars, and his rank was even higher than Balgo's!
"A mere Supreme of the First Heaven, yet the dark power contained within his body is even stronger than what was previously in Bai Xuanxuan's. I wonder if he was originally an important pawn arranged by the Seven Star Pillars in the First Heaven, or if he's a temporary spy sent by them after Balgo returned..."
Ye Ling murmured to himself, his eyes narrowing slightly as his thoughts began to stir.
The Seven Star Pillars were not fools; they must have received Balgo's report long ago. The reason they hadn't acted was likely their suspicion about the authenticity of Ye Ling as the Eighth Star Pillar.
The arrival of the Moon Wheel Ancestor was probably a stone cast by the Seven Star Pillars to test the waters.
With this thought, Ye Ling asked the World Annihilation Spiritual Fire, "World Annihilation Spiritual Fire, what do you think of this matter?"
The World Annihilation Spiritual Fire, which had been slacking off, was suddenly questioned by Ye Ling and couldn't help but be startled. It asked Ye Ling, "What matter?"
Ye Ling's forehead creased with exasperation. He recomposed himself and said, "The Moon Wheel Ancestor possesses extremely strong dark power, and his strength is roughly at the level of a Chaos Master and Grand Dao Immortal Lord. What do you think of this?"
The World Annihilation Spiritual Fire was shocked, "Tianren City has actually attracted such a powerful individual? I was dozing off just now and didn't even notice!"
Seeing the bewildered look on the World Annihilation Spiritual Fire's face, Ye Ling sighed slightly, "Never mind. Looking at your appearance, you probably can't come up with anything useful. It's pointless to ask."
Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, the World Annihilation Spiritual Fire instantly became enraged, "Are you looking down on me, brat? Do you really think I'm useless?"
Ye Ling raised an eyebrow, "Why else?"
"Good boy! Today, I'll show you my importance!" the World Annihilation Spiritual Fire bellowed, then said, "Brat, release some of your dark power!"
Ye Ling asked, "What for?"
The World Annihilation Spiritual Fire replied, "Just do as I say, and I'll open your eyes later!"
Hearing the World Annihilation Spiritual Fire's words, Ye Ling chuckled, but he was also curious about what new tricks the World Annihilation Spiritual Fire could pull off. He followed the World Annihilation Spiritual Fire's instructions and released a bit of dark power, asking, "And then?"
The World Annihilation Spiritual Fire instructed, "Use this dark power to intercept a portion of the dark power from the Moon Wheel Ancestor. Make it subtle, so he doesn't discover it."
"A trivial matter."
Ye Ling chuckled and flicked his finger, sending that wisp of dark power into the Moon Wheel Ancestor's brow in the city, silently intercepting a portion of his dark power.
"Good boy!"
Seeing Ye Ling effortlessly intercept the Moon Wheel Ancestor's dark power, the World Annihilation Spiritual Fire couldn't help but exclaim, then it steadied its emotions and instructed Ye Ling, "Now, merge your dark power with the dark power from the Moon Wheel Ancestor."
Ye Ling asked, "Merge?"
The World Annihilation Spiritual Fire replied, "Yes, it means exactly what it says: make these two forces one."
Ye Ling responded, "Alright."
Although Ye Ling didn't know what the World Annihilation Spiritual Fire was planning, he followed its instructions and merged his dark power with the intercepted dark power.
Soon, the two forces intertwined and then transformed into a pillar with three distinct patterns.
Upon seeing the transformed pillar, the World Annihilation Spiritual Fire told Ye Ling, "That Moon Wheel Ancestor is a subordinate of the Third Star Pillar."
Hearing this, Ye Ling was taken aback, "How do you know?"
The World Annihilation Spiritual Fire explained, "You may not know this, but this is a unique method of the Seven Star Pillars. After all, each Star Pillar can develop its own subordinates, and when the subordinates of the Seven Star Pillars act, their paths are bound to cross."
"Therefore, to distinguish those who possess dark power and identify who they belong to, the Seven Star Pillars use this method to differentiate them."
"The subordinates of the Third Star Pillar will have three patterns. Similarly, if you develop subordinates using dark power, other Star Pillars, when identifying them with dark power, should see pillars with eight patterns."
Ye Ling exclaimed in surprise, "Is that so?"
The World Annihilation Spiritual Fire continued, "Of course! This is an effective means for the Seven Star Pillars to identify their subordinates. It can also be used to identify spies, as in the Chaos Battlefield, the Emperor's Hall sometimes uses runes to simulate dark power, infiltrating spies into the Seven Star Pillars. However, the Emperor's Hall is unaware of this special identification method of the Seven Star Pillars, which is why their spies have never managed to infiltrate the high ranks of the dark side, resulting in many casualties."
Ye Ling marveled, "Well done, World Annihilation Spiritual Fire! I didn't expect you to have such information!"
He truly hadn't anticipated such a secret among the Seven Star Pillars. If he were to relay this information to the Emperor's Hall fighting in the Chaos Battlefield, it could lead to significant victories for them, even turning the tide of the war!
Furthermore, on a smaller scale, Ye Ling had now confirmed that the Moon Wheel Ancestor was indeed a spy sent by the Third Star Pillar, likely to ascertain if he had truly become the Eighth Star Pillar.
In this light, with the Third Star Pillar taking action, Ye Ling now only needed to put on a slight performance in front of the Moon Wheel Ancestor, and the Third Star Pillar should take the bait!
With these thoughts, Ye Ling's lips curved slightly, and he softly said, "It seems this auction... will become quite interesting!"
As he spoke, dark power surged from beneath Ye Ling's feet, silently encroaching upon all the cultivators within the Tianren Tower.