The Emperor's Domineering Favor, the Evil Consort's Unparalleled Reign

For Old Man Yan, Ying Li's ability to summon heavenly lightning was actually understandable. After all, he possessed mental control abilities and the Deep Eyes, and the combination of these two abilities made it easy for him to summon heavenly lightning to fight for him. The Deep Eyes' connection to the spirit of heaven and earth, combined with the formidable power of mental control, made the strange feeling of these two powers fused together immediately apparent.

What he didn't know was that Ying Li himself could trigger heavenly lightning, and he also possessed the rare treasure of the continent, the Bone Ring. If he had known these things, he might have been terrified.

But being a Yellow-Clad Spirit Master, he still possessed a certain level of composure. So, after Ying Li defeated Cui Yunfei's disciple, his first reaction was elation, followed by shock, and finally a slight sense of apology towards the man.

He slapped Ying Li hard on the back, scolding her, "You little brat, you're still my senior brother Ma, how could you hit me so hard! What did Master teach you? To be kind and respectful to your elders, to love and care for your senior brothers, to be filial to your elders, and to respect your senior brothers. How come you're so young and still not learning good things!"

While enduring Old Man Yan's beatings, Ying Li coldly said, "Master, could you please stop laughing?!" She was utterly exasperated; everyone knew how happy Old Man Yan was, his face crinkled with eighteen wrinkles, like a freshly baked bun, yet he insisted on putting on a good-natured act. It was truly a headache.

"Yan Zheng! Look at the disciple you taught, how could he be so ruthless! If anything happens to my disciple Ma Yin, I'll kill that little brat!" Old Cui looked at Ma Yin lying in the deep pit, foaming at the mouth, and couldn't help but turn around and curse at Ying Li.

Now he no longer cares about Ying Li's sweet and elegant appearance and wants to get close to her. She almost crippled his disciple with one move. No matter how lustful he is, he has to save face. His disciple, whom he taught by hand, is not as good as a little girl. If word gets out, it will be a disgrace to him and make him lose face!

"Hmph, your own disciple is useless, yet you come here to scold my Ali. Let me tell you, you were the one who suggested a fight. You can't beat my eldest disciple, so you come to bully my youngest. Heh, didn't expect that, did you? My youngest disciple is the real boss! Hahahaha! I'll make you furious, you old man Cui! You idiot!"

Seeing Cui Yunfei's furious appearance, Old Man Yan was inexplicably happy. That scoundrel had stolen his position as the Grand Elder of the Yun Family and now he even wanted to bully his disciple. Why did all the good things happen to him? Now that Ali had helped him improve his abilities, he couldn't be happier.

The worse Cui Yunfei falls, the better! Who told him to use his schemes to get himself kicked out of the Yun family? He deserves this fate!

"You wait, as long as I'm here, you won't get that pawnshop pearl! I'll settle this score with Beiqi City in Feng'an Kingdom next month!" Old Cui snorted coldly, grabbed Ma Yin, and left without looking back.

Old Man Yan was naturally not afraid of him, but he couldn't help feeling a bit annoyed when he ran into him. However, now that Ying Li and Yi Bicheng had both made him look good, he really hoped that Old Man Cui would cause him some more trouble so that he could enjoy being an apprentice more.

After making a fuss like this, the three of them headed towards the pawnshop in the ancient city. They asked a few people along the way before finally finding the pawnshop's location. It's no wonder that Old Man Yan didn't know where the pawnshop was; there were just too many grave diggers and too many pawnshops. He really didn't know where the pawnshop that was holding an auction today was.

After walking for half an hour, they finally arrived. Ying Li and the others found that the pawnshop was already crowded with people. Unlike other pawnshops, this pawnshop was built in a circular shape, which was very eye-catching. Within a radius of ten miles, this was the most prosperous place. The architectural style was simple and dark, but it did not stop people from speculating that it was luxurious inside.

Everyone's face was filled with anticipation. Old Man Yan led Ying Li and Yi Bicheng outside the crowd. Because of the news that the Qilin Pearl was going to be auctioned, they saw quite a few spiritual masters here.

However, there are relatively few spiritual masters, and the Qilin Pearl has little effect on ordinary people. Using it may even have adverse effects on the body. Therefore, some people focus their attention on other auction items and can only admire the Qilin Pearl from afar without daring to touch it.

"I heard that the Qilin Pearl auctioned today is bright in color and is a top-grade one! I wonder which expert will be able to acquire such a treasure."

"Anyway, neither of us can get it, and more importantly, we dare not even dream of it. I heard that this important person's tomb was only slightly opened, yet so many treasures were unearthed, including a Qilin Pearl. This shows that the expert must have been a powerful figure in life, at least a Spirit Lord. Luckily, these tomb raiders didn't rush in recklessly. If they had alerted the guardian beasts, they would have been in deep trouble!"

"..."

Listening to their casual conversation, Ying Li couldn't help but ask, "What's this about the tomb-guarding beast? Does it mean that after its master dies, the beast has to guard the tomb for him forever? But the lifespan of a divine beast is clearly a thousand years. Does it have to guard the tomb until it dies?"

“Some mythical beasts have an excellent relationship with their masters and will protect them until the end of their lives. But ordinary mythical beasts will protect their masters for fifty years before finding a new master, as a way of showing respect to their former masters. The mythical beast they are talking about probably had an excellent relationship with its original master, otherwise it wouldn’t be so persistent. Those tomb raiders are smart; if they were only greedy for money, they would have lost their lives!” Yi Bicheng explained to Ying Li by twirling his fan.

Although the purpose of this trip was to obtain the Qilin Pearl for Ying Li, there was a treasure at the auction that greatly pleased him: the Cicada Moon Pearl, which emerged from the tomb. This was an extremely rare solid incense pearl, not only very hard but also possessing the radiance of the moon. Inside, a lifelike young cicada appeared exquisitely delicate against the snow-white pearl. It would make a fine decoration if hung on the Red Plum Fan of the Far North.

The three men pushed their way into the crowd and looked at the pawnshop's tightly closed doors. They couldn't help but wonder, with so many people here, why wasn't the pawnshop open yet? Were they waiting for some opportunity?

"Ah Li, you don't know, but this pawnshop has a strange rule: once they dig up a treasure, they have to cleanse the shop at night for the first three nights before opening. They absolutely won't open during the day, supposedly to ward off bad luck. Look at all these people here, the pawnshop owner is definitely waiting for more people to come at night to cleanse the bad luck from the underground! I reckon the pawnshop owner who opened today might be one of the people who went to the cemetery. Otherwise, he would normally open the door right after sunset, but today the sun has been setting for a long time and he still hasn't opened it, which just proves he's one of the thieves who went to the cemetery!" Old Man Yan shouted in Ying Li's ear, afraid his voice wasn't loud enough.

Ying Li felt embarrassed after a moment of silence. She pushed Old Man Yan away, pointed to the others, and didn't bother to tell him to keep his voice down, since everyone who wasn't deaf could hear her.

Yi Bicheng was also quite helpless. This old man Yan's personality was too eccentric. To put it bluntly, he was a bit of a chatterbox, and if there was anything good going on, he would want to stir up eight things a day. He thought disrespectfully that if they hadn't come to this Ancient Wind City, this old man would definitely have found something to deal with them on the way.

"Who is this old man? Why is he so disrespectful to the boss? He's clearly here to ask for something good, but he's acting all arrogant. He's really annoying."

"Exactly, exactly. They're so old, yet they don't understand manners at all."

"Tsk tsk tsk, is he a complete idiot? He looks like a decrepit old man who escaped from a mental hospital. He's really ugly!"

"..."

When Old Man Yan heard people talking, his face changed. He was about to reprimand them when the gate creaked open. At the very moment the gate opened, the sky turned from dusky yellow to black, the timing was perfect.

As soon as the doors opened, the pawnshop's interior was laid out before everyone. The main hall on the first floor was filled with thousands of wooden stools, a variety of food and drinks, and all kinds of fine wines. Hundreds of beautiful women moved about among the tables, the sight of fine wine and beautiful women dazzling everyone.

The second floor was divided into private rooms by rows of silver-white gauze curtains. Ying Li counted about a hundred of them, arranged in a circle. Each private room had two stunningly beautiful women beside them, one holding a glass of wine and the other holding a bowl and chopsticks, smiling as they watched the crowd outside.

The third floor is five meters higher than the second, allowing those on the third floor to clearly see the activities on the first and second floors. No wonder Ying Li found the pawnshop strange from the outside; he only understood the secret after opening the door.

There were only ten private rooms on the third floor, each separated by a golden gauze curtain. Each room was attended by four beautiful women, who, upon closer inspection, were truly stunning beauties. They possessed bright eyes and white teeth, slightly flushed faces, alluring breasts, long, fair legs, and slender, shapely figures. Ying Li swallowed hard. "Master, those beauties are so beautiful! Master, look at them..."

"Hey! Master..." Just as Ying Li was engrossed in his work, he turned his head and saw that Old Man Yan was nowhere to be seen. Yi Bicheng covered his mouth and poked Ying Li's shoulder, then pointed out Old Man Yan, who was burying his head in the hall eating and drinking. He said helplessly, "I'm afraid even if a celestial being descended to earth, our Master Yan wouldn't bother to look at him."

Ying Li's face turned pale, and she spread her hands, saying, "What can I do?! I'm desperate too!"

There were clearly people watching from the third floor, and when they saw Old Man Yan eating and drinking wildly in the hall, they couldn't help but scoff.

"Thank you all for coming. However, our pawnshop has its own rules. Please inform the manager of the items you wish to auction and the items you wish to exchange. After that, seating arrangements will be made, and the pawning will begin tonight!"

A short, stubby, and clear voice called out from the third floor. As soon as the voice fell, about a hundred people walked out of the hall and lined up by the door. They recorded the treasures that the guests brought and the treasures they exchanged, and arranged the seats in order for the guests to enter.

Because Ying Li possessed a rare Spirit-Attracting Wolf Hunter, after revealing his treasure, he was led to the second floor by the manager. Yi Bicheng naturally revealed his treasure as well and chose to go with Ying Li to a private room on the second floor to wait for the auction to begin.

Old Man Yan was dragged upstairs by the two men, where beautiful women served him wine, and only then did the matter end. Just as the auction was about to begin, Ying Li glanced across the street on the second floor and saw Old Man Cui sitting opposite him, pulling Ma Yin along, looking furious. Ma Yin's face was deathly pale, and he was breathing weakly, staring at the two men with a fierce look in his eyes.

However, what Ying Li and the old man Cui didn't notice was that in two other private rooms on the second floor, two other pairs of eyes were closely watching them. Those eyes held amusement and a hint of anticipation, as if waiting for a good show to begin, waiting for the night to fall.