Chapter 445 - 443: Not Just Anyone Can Tell a Story

This left everyone’s jaws on the floor. It was too ridiculous! A completely nonsensical story had actually been traded for a treasure. It was simply unbelievable.

For a long moment, no one could close their mouths. Even Qiu Rong Wanxue found it outrageous. She couldn’t believe that a nonsensical story could be traded for a treasure. If word got out, no one would believe it.

"For you." As Li Qiye pressed the Jade Coffin into her hands, Qiu Rong Wanxue finally realized it wasn’t a dream. This was real.

"This... this..." Qiu Rong Wanxue was dumbfounded. Li Qiye had actually given such a precious treasure to her.

"Don’t get me wrong," Li Qiye said playfully. "This isn’t a betrothal gift."

His words made Qiu Rong Wanxue flustered, a mix of indignation and shyness, yet she couldn’t help but be touched. Even though it was just a joke, it warmed her heart and filled it with a hint of sweetness.

"Alright, there are nine coffins in this auction. This is the second one: the Silver Coffin," the Little Ghost said with a wide smile. "This is a good one, especially for the Ghost Race. This is Night Soul Water. If a Ghost Race Cultivator drinks this, it is guaranteed to strengthen your True Destiny." With that, he opened the silver coffin.

Inside was a coffin full of pale green water. The water exuded a yin aura, but the moment the Ghost Race Cultivators in the crowd sensed it, they felt their True Destinies resonate and become unusually active.

This made them realize in an instant that the Night Soul Water was an extraordinary Holy Water for their Ghost Race.

"I’ll tell a story! I’ll tell a story!" Suddenly, everyone started shouting, vying to be the one to tell a story.

Only Li Qiye simply smiled and closed his eyes, not even sparing it a glance. The Night Soul Water was of no use to him.

"Alright, let’s hear it," the Little Ghost said, casually pointing to a young Cultivator.

The chosen Cultivator was instantly excited. He coughed, cleared his throat, and then said: "Once upon a time, there was a child who fell into an Immortal Cave. Inside the Immortal Cave grew an Immortal Herb..."

"Absolute garbage—" However, the Cultivator had only managed a few sentences before the Little Ghost unceremoniously threw him out of the Central City.

"I have a story! I have a story!" Many others, not ready to give up, eagerly raised their hands and shouted.

The Little Ghost randomly pointed at another person, who said excitedly, "In a desolate era, a Golden Phoenix appeared in the Ghost Sacred Realm. This Golden Phoenix carried an Immortal City on its back..."

"Absolute garbage—" And yet, this Cultivator had been telling his story quite brilliantly. But before he could get very far, the Little Ghost threw him out of the Central City as well.

After that, a dozen more people tried to tell stories. Some were even told magnificently, but the Little Ghost threw them out of the Central City, one by one.

Qiu Rong Wanxue, still clutching the Jade Coffin, was overcome with excitement. After she finally managed to calm down, she listened to the dozen or so Cultivators’ stories and felt it was all very strange. The stories they told were quite brilliant—some could even rival the legends of Immortal Emperors—but the Little Ghost still threw them all out.

In fact, it wasn’t just Qiu Rong Wanxue who was puzzled; many others in the crowd found it strange as well. The stories told by the people who were thrown out were clearly more spectacular than Li Qiye’s, yet the Little Ghost was completely unimpressed. Why?

"Young Master, why was the Little Ghost so interested in your story?" Qiu Rong Wanxue, completely baffled, couldn’t resist whispering in Li Qiye’s ear.

Li Qiye glanced at her and smiled. "The issue isn’t the story itself, but the information the story provides him. It must be useful, valuable information!"

"’Useful and valuable information?’" Qiu Rong Wanxue was taken aback. She hadn’t felt that her Young Master’s story contained any information that was useful or valuable.

"That’s not something you can comprehend," Li Qiye said with a laugh. "If you don’t understand the myriad ages, if you don’t know of Immortal Demons, how could you possibly grasp what the story contains?"

Qiu Rong Wanxue stood there in a daze. She carefully replayed her Young Master’s story in her mind. ’Since he put it that way, there must be a monumental secret hidden within.’ But no matter how she tried to analyze it or recall the details, she couldn’t find anything earth-shattering about it.

"Stop thinking about it," Li Qiye said with a faint smile. "It’s not something you can comprehend."

Qiu Rong Wanxue let out a soft sigh and decided to stop thinking about it altogether. Just as Li Qiye had said, its contents were beyond her ability to comprehend.

After dozens of aspiring storytellers had been thrown out by the Little Ghost, everyone finally understood that telling stories was a dead end. So, they began to take out their own items to trade.

In the end, the second Ancient Coffin was taken by a young disciple from an Ancient Family, who traded it for an ancient calligraphy scroll.

The Little Ghost’s taste was truly baffling. For a Cultivator, Cultivation Techniques came first and treasures second. In their eyes, things like paintings and calligraphy were completely useless and worthless. Yet, the Little Ghost had a particular fondness for them.

This made some of the young Cultivators regretful. ’If I had known the Little Ghost liked these strange trinkets, I would have bought a whole pile of them in the Mortal World!’ To a Cultivator, items like paintings, calligraphy, and antiques were practically worthless; they could buy as many as they could carry.

"A fine item," Li Qiye praised softly, opening his eyes at the exact moment everyone else was dismissing the scroll as worthless.

"What is it?" Qiu Rong Wanxue couldn’t understand either and saw nothing special about the scroll. For a Mortal, it might be a true work of art, but for a Cultivator, art was worthless! It served no purpose. What Cultivators yearned for was power!

Li Qiye smiled. "This item comes from an ancient Emperor Dynasty. Of course, the Profound Secret within isn’t something an ordinary person can perceive. It holds something that would make anyone drool."

Although Li Qiye didn’t specify the secret hidden inside, Qiu Rong Wanxue understood that this was far more than a simple scroll. It made her wonder, ’Why does Li Qiye know these things? It’s as if he knows countless secrets.’

"This is why you should read more books. The more you read, the more you know," Li Qiye replied to her unspoken question with a knowing smile.

Qiu Rong Wanxue couldn’t help but steal another glance at him. She didn’t really believe his explanation. ’If these matters were all recorded in books, they wouldn’t be secrets anymore.’

Next, the Little Ghost auctioned off six more coffins. Among them were a Golden Coffin and a Divine Wood Coffin, and the items inside them were of all kinds—treasures, rare oddities, even things no one had ever seen before.

The Little Ghost’s demands were just as peculiar. He completely looked down on items from the Great Teaching Territories. During the auction, figures like Qing Jinzi and Prince Shen Ran presented treasures from their own sects, but the Little Ghost didn’t even give them a second glance.

During the auction, everyone noticed a pattern: the Little Ghost liked items unearthed in Fengdu City. Including the Jade Coffin that Li Qiye had acquired, a total of seven items had now been auctioned. Of the six items the Little Ghost had accepted in trade, four had been unearthed in Fengdu City.

At that point, the young Cultivators present understood that the Little Ghost was specifically after items from Fengdu City. Thus, everyone began to eagerly present the items they themselves had found there.

"And now for the last two coffins. These are truly incredible, absolutely world-class treasures." After the seventh item was auctioned, the Little Ghost announced with a friendly smile, "These final two treasures... if you can obtain just one and one day manage to comprehend it, your future will be boundless."

Hearing the Little Ghost’s words, the young Cultivators in attendance felt a jolt of energy, their excitement mounting. The Little Ghost had auctioned off seven coffins in quick succession, each containing an amazing item. Now only the final two remained. Based on his description, the contents of these last two were even more extraordinary than the previous seven—truly rare treasures. One could only imagine what they might be.

At this moment, the Little Ghost slowly brought out a Copper Coffin. It was massive, twice the size of an ordinary coffin, looking as if it contained some kind of behemoth.

After setting down the Copper Coffin, the Little Ghost patted it gently. Squinting, he said with a smile, "Alright, let me see what you’ve got. If I see something I like, this Copper Coffin is yours."

"Why don’t you open the Copper Coffin and let us see what’s inside first?" someone couldn’t help but ask.

But the Little Ghost just grinned. "No need to rush. The item inside is an absolute treasure, I assure you. It won’t be too late to open the Copper Coffin after I’ve had a look at everything you have to offer."

At the Little Ghost’s words, everyone scrambled to take out their own items, afraid of being left behind.

"I have a Green Tooth Stone, obtained from the Five Realms Gate in Fengdu City!" a young Cultivator immediately announced, presenting his treasure to the Little Ghost.

"I have a River Lock, found in a Ghost Algae Box in the Ghost River!" Everyone eagerly presented their treasures.

Just then, the Little Ghost’s gaze landed on the item Prince Shen Ran had presented. Seeing he had captured the auctioneer’s interest, Prince Shen Ran immediately began to promote it enthusiastically. "I obtained this item in Fengdu City! When it was unearthed, it was pulsing with Yin Xuan Light. Although I don’t know what kind of treasure it is yet, it is without a doubt a peerless one!"

"A bit interesting," the Little Ghost commented, nodding as he examined Prince Shen Ran’s offering.

Meanwhile, Qing Jinzi also presented an item: an eye, grayish-white in color. "This is an Ancient Eye left behind by a sage of my clan," he said. "Its origins are unknown, but it is an absolutely incredible treasure."

"Mm, this is indeed a rarity." The Little Ghost nodded in praise after inspecting Qing Jinzi’s eye.