Anyone with eyes could see what was happening.
But who had conjured the lightning?
Shen Xiaoyan instinctively looked at Zheng Wei, who stood beside her. Among those present, he was the only one she knew capable of wielding lightning.
However, in response to her questioning gaze, Zheng Wei shook his head. "It wasn't me."
This surprised Shen Xiaoyan. If not Zheng Wei, then who?
Just then, Shen Xiaoyan suddenly recalled that the extremely thin bolt of lightning earlier seemed to be a pale purple. She remembered Zhen Lingrong saying that the purple lightning-shooting cloud beast spewed purple clouds. But that didn't make sense either; wasn't it supposed to be purple clouds?
As Shen Xiaoyan was puzzling over this, she heard a soft gasp, "Shameng, you're amazing!"
That was it. She no longer needed to wonder. From Ruannuan's words alone, she knew the perpetrator of everything that had just happened was the little beast that had emerged from the egg, or rather, Shameng.
Once she understood this, Shen Xiaoyan felt a surge of joy. She hadn't expected the newly born purple lightning-shooting cloud beast to be so powerful. In the future, with it by Ruannuan's side, it would reduce some of their worries concerning her.
She walked over to Ruannuan and asked her a few soft questions. After confirming that Ruannuan was not frightened, Shen Xiaoyan's expression turned icy as she looked at Xihe, who lay on the ground, unconscious. Although she didn't fully understand why Xihe had suddenly attacked Ruannuan, anyone who dared to lay a hand on her Ruannuan had to be prepared for her retaliation.
Zheng Wei squatted down, observed Xihe for a moment, then stood up and said to Shen Xiaoyan, "She's just fainted. All the injuries are superficial and will heal with time."
In other words, it looked terrifying but was actually all for show! Thinking this, Shen Xiaoyan gave Shameng a fierce look. It was true that one could only truly rely on oneself. She had to constantly remember to look out for Ruannuan's well-being.
Shameng flinched under Shen Xiaoyan's gaze, its small claws clutching Ruannuan's sleeve tightly, and it softly explained, "I'm still young... so my attack power is weaker, but I can grow quickly. I just need... I just need..."
Hearing its hesitant words, Shen Xiaoyan became curious. "You just need what?"
"I just need enough immortal crystals to eat my fill. If not immortal crystals, then purple crystals or blue crystals will do."
"..."
Shen Xiaoyan gritted her teeth, looking at Shameng, her chest heaving. Its demands were truly not high! Setting aside purple and blue crystals, even immortal crystals were beyond the reach of ordinary people. Some people would be overjoyed to have just one, yet it said it just needed enough to eat its fill. Enough to eat its fill! That was all it needed!
Shen Xiaoyan's lips moved a few times, but the words "Then you can starve" remained unspoken. Under Ruannuan's pleading gaze, Shen Xiaoyan eventually took out an immortal crystal and handed it over.
The immortal crystal was about the size of her palm. Held by Shameng, it was almost half its body size. Shameng hugged the immortal crystal and opened its small mouth, directly biting into it. Never mind the difference in size between its mouth and the immortal crystal; the sheer hardness of the immortal crystal was something even Shen Xiaoyan couldn't break directly.
But to everyone's surprise, the seemingly indestructible immortal crystal was so easily bitten off by Shameng. Shen Xiaoyan watched Shameng's utterly blissful expression and listened to the crunching sounds, feeling a pang of pain and regret. She turned to look at Zheng Wei and saw that his brows were also furrowed. Glancing at the others, everyone's lips twitched involuntarily. It seemed she wasn't the only one who couldn't stand the noise!
And so, Shameng, bite by bite, very quickly consumed the entire immortal crystal. Shen Xiaoyan estimated the time; it took about five minutes. This speed was simply heaven-defying. What Lu Taobao had said earlier was indeed too true; its teeth were exceptionally good.
Shameng let out a burp but then looked at Shen Xiaoyan with lingering reluctance. Seeing it like this, Shen Xiaoyan couldn't help but smile. Its spirit after eating was truly commendable. Even though it was nearly stuffed, it still had its eye on the immortal crystal in her hand.
A white light flashed in Shen Xiaoyan's hand, and another immortal crystal lay quietly in her palm. Handing the immortal crystal to Shameng, Shen Xiaoyan smiled and said, "Eat it when you're hungry. Just hold onto it for now."
Shameng extended its small claws and tightly clutched the immortal crystal. It glanced warily at the people around it, then handed the immortal crystal back to Shen Xiaoyan. "I'll ask you for it when I'm hungry. I have nowhere to put it."
Hearing this, Shen Xiaoyan instantly burst out laughing. It truly was Shameng! It lived up to its name. Speaking of which, it reminded Shen Xiaoyan that Ruannuan and the other two didn't have space rings yet. Just as Shen Xiaoyan was thinking of going back to buy three for them, Zhen Lingrong stretched out her hand, and in her palm, there were three rings.
"Ruannuan, Xiaohe, Xiaohan, come quickly. Pick one each and wear it. From now on, you can store your own things yourselves," Zhen Lingrong said with a smile.
Hearing this, the three of them, Ruannuan, Xiaohe, and Xiaohan, hurried over. It was evident they were very curious and eager about the space rings. Under Zhen Lingrong's guidance, the three of them quickly bonded with the rings and then wore them on their right index fingers. The rings were initially quite large, but after being put on their index fingers, they rapidly shrank, fitting perfectly as if tailor-made.
Shen Xiaoyan had witnessed the magic of these space rings before, so she merely glanced at them and didn't say much. She had originally intended to take some good items from her own space and have the three of them store them in their respective space rings, but her peripheral vision caught sight of Xi Jin and Xi Yin in the corner, which made her discard the idea.
With Shameng's interruption, she had almost forgotten about one thing: why Xihe had suddenly attacked Ruannuan. Unfortunately, Xihe was lying on the ground, unconscious, so she couldn't get any answers. However, this didn't mean she wouldn't find out the reason; after all, there were still two other people there, weren't there?
Just as Shen Xiaoyan was preparing to walk over and question them, she suddenly heard Consort Xiang's voice again. Instinctively, she turned her head to look out the window, her heart filled with confusion. Hadn't the auction ended? She hadn't heard anything for half the day.
As Shen Xiaoyan wondered, she heard Consort Xiang's voice again. "Our rest period has also ended. Next is the grand finale of this auction. Everyone, please look..."
"Hiss!"
Suddenly, a gasp was heard, which startled Shen Xiaoyan and made her look out the window. But when she truly saw what it was, she couldn't help but let out a surprised cry herself.