Reincarnation Pills, the Nine Heavens Resting Soil, Meng Po's Soup, the Other Shore Flower—each one a legendary treasure, once thought unattainable. And now, they were all appearing at an auction. It could be said that this auction was by no means inferior to the legendary Dragon Palace Auction. In many ways, it rivaled it.
Naturally, Yi Tianxing's heart stirred with strong interest.
He lacked nothing in wealth. To him, such an auction was nothing less than a supreme feast.
"By the way, earlier you mentioned that the Red-Robed Ghost King used the Yin-Yang Token to enter the world of the living, causing a Hundred Ghosts' Night Parade, with Yin soldiers crossing into the living realm, even forcibly drawing out living souls. What's going on with that? There are countless ghosts in the underworld—why would he need to extract souls from the world of the living?"Yi Tianxing asked, a thought having occurred to him.
"According to intelligence, the Red-Robed Ghost King possesses a Flame Ghost Body, one of the Five Elemental Ghost Bodies," Zhao Li said gravely. "Later, he obtained a cultivation technique called the Yin-Yang Mystic Flame Mirror (阴阳玄火鉴). Once cultivated to mastery, it allows the condensation of Yin-Yang Divine Fire, capable of sweeping through both Yin and Yang realms, incinerating all. It is extremely overbearing."
Yin-Yang Mystic Flame Mirror
A powerful technique allowing the user to form Yin-Yang Divine Fire, which burns through all worlds. It has a fast-track method involving the devouring of souls.
"There's even a shortcut in the technique—devouring souls to temper the Yin-Yang fire seed. It's said that the Yin-Yang Divine Furnace uses souls as fuel—the stronger the souls, the stronger the fire."
"In the underworld, devouring ghost souls nourishes the Yin component of the flame. But to balance the fire, the Yang aspect must also be nurtured. If there's no balance, the cultivation can't progress beyond a certain point. That's why he enters the world of the living—to draw living souls rich in Yang essence, to temper the Yang fire and balance Yin and Yang."
This was an extremely dreadful forbidden technique. Once set upon this shortcut, there was no turning back. To keep progressing, one would be forever dependent on devouring vast quantities of souls.
No wonder the Red-Robed Ghost King hunted down a ghost officer to seize the Yin-Yang Token, allowing him to enter the world of the living and hunt for souls.
"A ghost king like that—whether in the underworld or the world of the living—is a colossal threat. He could easily devolve into a true demon. He definitely can't be allowed to continue."Yi Tianxing nodded.
He had already begun devouring souls. In the future, he might need to consume tens of millions. The scale of potential destruction was unimaginable.
Beyond the Yellow Springs Inn, some thousand miles away, stood a colossal city.
This city was entirely built of white bone, its monstrous structure exuding immense pressure. The bones used had clearly come from powerful beings, forged and fused using secret methods, then inscribed with countless runes and prohibitive arrays. The walls, dozens of meters high, were an indomitable fortress.
Atop the city gates hung a massive plaque: Crimson Flame City!
On the city walls, squadrons of ghost soldiers in crimson armor patrolled. These were the Crimson Flame Army, an elite force, brimming with bloodlust. Their eyes radiated killing intent.
At the gates, a steady stream of ghostly beings entered and exited—ghosts, zombies, and other races. Entry required a toll. The city's population reached into the millions, a bustling necropolis. The buildings all had distinct, eerie features.
Deep beneath Crimson Flame City was a hidden, heavily guarded underground prison. Each cell was massive, capable of holding dozens without crowding. The prison materials and runes ensured that no soul could escape once imprisoned.
It held thousands upon thousands of souls.
But these weren't ordinary underworld ghosts—their bodies still emanated traces of vital yang energy. These were living souls—souls extracted forcibly from the world of the living before their natural lifespan ended.
Clang!
"Move. By order of the King, extract one hundred living souls from the prison and deliver them to his cultivation chamber."A guard barked, leading a group deeper inside.
"No! I don't want to die! I don't want to be eaten! That demon eats souls daily—no one ever returns!"
"Damn it! Another round! One hundred a day—who knows whose turn it is next?"
"Curse that Ghost King! May he suffer divine retribution for devouring the living!"
"Please, someone save me! I'll serve you for life—just don't let that monster eat me!"
Despair, terror, and curses filled the prison. Most of the imprisoned souls were humans—ordinary people, some cultivators, but now all reduced to prey, awaiting consumption.
"Heh, curse all you want. You'll all die anyway. Feeding the King's cultivation is your honor, insects. Nothing you say will change your fate."A guard sneered, unlocking a cell and chaining up soul after soul.
One hundred were dragged away—men, women, elderly, children. Their eyes held only utter despair. Resistance was futile.
As the hundred souls were taken away, the prison fell silent. The ones who remained could only count themselves lucky—for now.
"These days… when will they end? Even dying seems out of reach. We just wait to be eaten."A young man muttered bitterly.
"Wasn't there supposed to be a proper underworld? A cycle of reincarnation? What kind of hell is this?"An old man whispered in despair.
By now, it was estimated that over three to four hundred thousand living souls were imprisoned. To gather that many, the Red-Robed Ghost King must have reaped millions of lives in the living realm.
Inside one cell sat a young girl, unremarkable in appearance, easily lost in a crowd. Yet her eyes stood out—pure, bright, like a child's, but frighteningly deep.
She looked around calmly, unlike others who wept or cursed. Her eyes flickered—not with despair, but with a powerful will to survive.
A mysterious young girl, around 14–15 years old, with extraordinary eyes and composure, harbors a deadly secret.
"I won't die. I haven't found my brother yet. Even if this is hell, I'll break out. If that Ghost King wants to eat me—I'll devour him instead. My cultivation technique is nearly complete. I might have a chance."
Her mind raced.
Though her soul had been dragged to the underworld, her preparations weren't in vain. Most importantly, her self-created cultivation technique was now perfected.
This was her true lifeline.
She suddenly reached toward a nearby non-human soul—a bear-man. Immersed in despair, he didn't even notice her move.
As her hand touched him, a black vortex appeared in her palm. Within it, a divine creature—a divine Kun—opened its mouth in silent hunger, unleashing terrifying devouring power.
The bear-man's soul was sucked in, vanishing without a sound.
Inside the girl's body, a mystical force refined her soul.
Her eyes gleamed brighter—purer, sharper. A flicker of energy surfaced and vanished, undetected.
No one noticed that a soul had disappeared from the cell.
The girl wields a Devouring Kun Technique, silently consuming souls to refine her power—a cultivation method she created herself.