Chen Xiao squeezed the jade ruyi, and as his mind willed it, a great yellow light burst forth from his hand.

In an instant, abundant spiritual energy poured into the jade ruyi, activating the array runes.

Buzz—

A sound similar to a buzzing bee rang out, and then, the surface of the jade ruyi was covered in a layer of lightning!

Countless arcs of electricity, like silver-white snakes, coiled around the jade ruyi, crackling and snapping!

"Damn, it really is an offensive magical artifact!"

"Yes, it's an offensive magical artifact that stores the Heavenly Thunder Array Rune. I didn't expect this kid to be right. How did he see it?"

"I didn't expect this young man to be a cultivator. I was blind!"

Seeing this scene, the crowd discussed animatedly.

Xu Banxian was instantly horrified, looking at Chen Xiao in disbelief, "You are also a cultivator? But why can't I feel any spiritual energy fluctuations on you?"

To activate the array runes on this magical artifact, one must at least have the strength of the Jindan (Golden Core) stage. Could it be that this kid has the strength of the Jindan stage?

But why can't he feel the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy on him?

There are only two possible explanations for this!

The first is that this kid's strength has far exceeded the Jindan stage, which is absolutely impossible. How old is he? It would be good enough if he could reach the Jindan stage, let alone far exceed it. Absolutely impossible!

The second possibility is that this kid possesses some kind of secret treasure that can conceal the fluctuations of spiritual energy on his body.

Even his ability to activate the array runes may be due to this secret treasure.

After all, it is unlikely that this kid has reached the Jindan stage at his age.

Xu Banxian was not wrong. Chen Xiao was indeed not at the Jindan stage, because their cultivation systems were completely different.

Moreover, Chen Xiao did have a secret treasure with him, but this secret treasure was Chen Xiao himself.

He Xinwu was also confused. He could not understand what was happening before his eyes.

But one thing was certain: this jade ruyi was not what Xu Banxian had said it was.

"Master Xu, what exactly is going on?"

He Xinwu lowered his voice and said coldly.

Xu Banxian squeezed out a smile and said awkwardly, "Young Master He, don't worry, let me explain..."

"Explain my ass! I almost fell for your trick! That was a gift I prepared for my grandfather's birthday celebration, and you dare to deceive me!"

He Xinwu's eyes were icy, and he gritted his teeth, no longer displaying the demeanor of a young master from a wealthy family.

"Young Master He, it's not like I had a choice. I've lost all my money recently due to investments, but this jade ruyi is very important to me, so I had to ask you to help me bid for it first... But don't worry, there are still a few days until your grandfather's birthday. I'll take care of your birthday gift. I'll definitely find you a suitable magical artifact to make you the center of attention at the birthday banquet!"

Xu Banxian had no choice but to explain.

"Hmph!"

He Xinwu snorted coldly, but did not pursue the matter further.

It wasn't that he didn't want to pursue it, but he couldn't do anything to Xu Banxian.

After all, Xu Banxian was a great cultivator at the Jindan stage. If he pushed him too hard, who knows what he might do.

Moreover, He Xinwu had not managed to bid for the jade ruyi, so he hadn't lost anything.

At this time, someone began to make sarcastic remarks at Chen Xiao.

"Young man, you are quite clever, aren't you? You were able to guess the truth based on these clues. But you're too clever for your own good. You spent nine hundred million to bid for this one-time-use jade ruyi, and now you've used it up. This nine hundred million is better off thrown into the water. At least you'd hear a splash!"

As soon as this person finished speaking, another person mocked, "What do you mean, no splash? Didn't you see the Heavenly Thunder Array on the jade ruyi? That's a much bigger splash than throwing money into the water!"

These words drew a burst of laughter from the crowd.

In the eyes of these masters of arcane arts, the Heavenly Thunder Array on this jade ruyi was no different from a large firework display.

Chen Xiao sneered, "A bunch of fools! Didn't you think about it? If this jade ruyi only had this little use, why would that old bastard Xu Banxian be so eager to get his hands on it?"

Everyone was stunned, and then they realized, 'That's right, why would Xu Banxian be like that?'

Even though they had been called fools by Chen Xiao, they didn't care. Their eyes turned to Xu Banxian.

"Hey, Xu Banxian, I remember you said just now that this jade ruyi was very important to you. What's the secret?"

These masters of arcane arts all knew each other, and there were also many Jindan experts among them. Xu Banxian was not the most outstanding among them.

Xu Banxian smiled awkwardly. He knew that these people were not easy to fool, so he had to explain, "To be honest, this jade ruyi is a relic of an old friend of mine. Something happened to his family, and his widow had no choice but to take out this jade ruyi to auction it off for money."

"I wanted to help my old friend's widow, but I'm really short on money, so I had to resort to this tactic."

Hearing Xu Banxian's explanation, some people believed it and said with a curl of their lips, "Xu Banxian, I didn't expect you to be so stingy, but you're quite righteous at critical moments!"

"I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it. I just did what I should have done."

Xu Banxian said, cupping his hands.

However, someone quickly discovered a loophole in his words and said, "That's not right, Xu Banxian. Since the jade ruyi was auctioned off for a high price of nine hundred million, and we all know that this jade ruyi is not worth that much money, logically speaking, your friend's widow should have gotten a good deal. You should be secretly happy about it. Why are you still running around trying to cause trouble? Aren't you overdoing it?"

"Uh, this..."

Xu Banxian hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting around, and then quickly said, "After all, this object is a relic of my old friend. This jade ruyi may be a bit of a tasteless magical artifact, but my old friend was very fond of it, so I thought, I'll think of another way to get the jade ruyi and secretly bury it in my old friend's tomb, so that it can be returned to its original owner!"

As he spoke, he looked at Chen Xiao with a sorrowful expression, "Little friend, I know my approach is greedy, but I also have my own difficulties. I hope you can understand."

After Xu Banxian said these words, more than half of the people present believed him. After all, the old guy's eyes were already red, so it was unlikely to be fake.

Chen Xiao sighed, "So it seems you really have your own difficulties!"

"That's right, little friend. Why don't you return this jade ruyi to its original owner? In the future, I will definitely repay your kindness. I wonder what you think?"

Xu Banxian stared at the jade ruyi with a look of longing, like an old fox seeing a hen, drool almost dripping down.

"Hahahahahaha..."

Chen Xiao suddenly burst out laughing, "Old bastard, you're thinking too beautifully. You actually took it seriously when I was just teasing you?"

Xu Banxian's brows furrowed and his expression changed drastically!

Chen Xiao stood with his hands behind his back and shouted coldly, "Old bastard, you can deceive others, but you can't deceive me!"

Before he finished speaking, Chen Xiao gripped the jade ruyi tightly.

With a cracking sound, the jade ruyi shattered into pieces...