Inside a tall carriage also heading toward the auction house, someone was speaking:

“It is said that the Medicine God is not truly a god, but a supremely gifted great medical sage—one of the Three Saints of the Upper Realm, renowned throughout the world for alchemy. Only, few in the Lower Realm know of him.”

“And because he is the only medical cultivator in this world capable of refining divine-grade pills, among the Three Saints, he is also the only one called ‘God.’”

The old ancestor spoke unhurriedly, without the slightest trace of having just learned it on the spot.

Shu Tiantian hurriedly asked, “Then how is he now?”

The divine sense continued to eavesdrop.

“Twenty years ago he disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only a relic inheritance.”

“And his wife?”

“She was a cultivator from the Lower Realm. It is said she disappeared together with the Medicine God. The two also had a daughter.”

Void Abyss Old Ancestor’s retelling suddenly paused. His beautiful phoenix eyes narrowed slightly—

Inside the sedan chair locked onto by Void Abyss Old Ancestor’s divine sense, an aged male voice was speaking to the girl in pink opposite him,

“This time, the envoys from the Upper Realm have not come merely for the Ten Thousand Sects Assembly and to assist the Lower Realm in exterminating the sinful dragon—they are also here to search for the Medicine God’s daughter. The Medicine God’s daughter is approximately eighteen to twenty years old. She bears the Medicine God’s inheritance and carries his bloodline; her talent in medical cultivation must naturally be outstanding. The envoys have also brought a portrait of the Medicine God’s wife. Your cousin has seen it and said that you bear some resemblance to her.”

He only paused briefly, adjusted his wording, and conveyed the meaning to Shu Tiantian.

When people of the Lower Realm reach a certain level of cultivation, they can naturally ascend to the Upper Realm. In the Upper Realm, sects stand in great numbers, and the struggles are even fiercer than in the Lower Realm. Although the Upper Realm calls itself saints, immortals, and gods, the ancient deities have perished, and only Ji Wushu remains in heaven and earth.

As for the true nature of those from the Upper Realm—no one likely understood it better than he did.

Shu Tiantian already knew about the envoys from the Upper Realm, but she never expected… damn it, there was even a portrait???

If the Medicine God were still alive, Shu Tiantian felt that she could observe first before going out to acknowledge kinship—there should be no danger to her life. After all, he would be her biological father; even her scumbag father in her previous life had only been somewhat scummy—her little life could still be preserved. But the Medicine God had disappeared, and her mother had disappeared with him. When she was found, she had been covered in blood…

Shu Tiantian had thought perhaps the Medicine God had only temporarily fallen into danger, and later, when he searched, he simply could not find her. But now it seemed that things were very likely not that simple. A powerful cultivator disappearing together with his wife for twenty years…

The conversation inside the eavesdropped sedan chair continued,

“Our Ling family has raised you all these years; who would have thought you would encounter such fortune. In a moment, the envoys from the Upper Realm will descend here. You must act according to plan. Your cousin Song Ting has seen that portrait—you bear quite a resemblance. This matter is likely true. The Medicine God is one of the Three Saints; in the Upper Realm he is an extremely influential figure. This Azure Cloud Ladder—you must seize it well.”

The girl in pink nodded and softly responded with an “Mm.”

Void Abyss Old Ancestor withdrew his divine sense.

For some reason, the little flower across from him looked dispirited, like she had suffered some sort of blow.

Thinking of the characteristics of the Medicine God’s daughter, his slender fingers paused briefly on the teacup.

The group led by Song Shao not only moved extremely quickly, but also took into account that temperamental elder, maintaining silence the entire way. Very soon they arrived at Dongwu City, the largest city in Void Abyss. The headquarters of the Song Clan Auction House was also located here.

Although Void Abyss was usually treated as the cultivation world’s infamous backwater, whenever the Song Clan Auction House held its auctions in Void Abyss, countless cultivators would flock here for heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

Not to mention that this time coincided with the grand Ten Thousand Sects Assembly—naturally, many came attracted by its reputation.

Tomorrow would be the first day of the auction. Today, Dongwu City was already crowded and bustling with cultivators from all corners of the world.

When the sedan chair soon arrived before the imposing gates of the Song Clan Auction House, the dispirited Shu Tiantian finally lifted the curtain to take a look.

The bustling crowd ahead parted like Moses dividing the Red Sea. Song Shao immediately ordered the convoy to stop.

Listening to the murmurs around her, Shu Tiantian knew that this grand display belonged to the envoys from the Upper Realm searching for the Medicine God’s daughter. Even Song Shao, the young master of the auction house, stood respectfully to one side waiting—it was evident how imposing these envoys were.

The pressure belonging to powerful cultivators spread outward, instantly rendering the previously noisy entrance utterly silent. Under such overwhelming pressure, even children did not dare make a sound. The cultivators inside the sedan chairs also waited respectfully, allowing them to enter first.

—Except for the sedan chair parked behind Song Shao.

A bead of sweat appeared on Song Shao’s forehead. He wanted to say something to the two inside the sedan chair, but feared that any movement might attract the attention of the envoys from the Upper Realm. He could only forcibly restrain himself and remain silent, praying that these envoys would absolutely, absolutely not notice this place.

Yesterday, Song Shao had reminded Shu Tiantian that the envoys from the Upper Realm were difficult to deal with, but he had not expected to run into them directly—and had even forgotten that Gouming Sect was a hidden sect, which likely did not know how formidable they were…

Shu Tiantian did not feel any pressure at all, yet she subconsciously edged a little closer toward Void Abyss Old Ancestor, who was drinking tea. She used her veiled hat to cover her face before looking outside.

This group of white-robed cultivators wore white feather garments, each bearing extraordinary presence.

But before Shu Tiantian could clearly see what the envoys from the Upper Realm looked like—

Suddenly, a girl in pink was violently thrown out of a window, crashing to the ground right at the feet of the group preparing to enter the auction house.

The Upper Realm envoys halted mid-step. Their expressions instinctively turned displeased—but when the girl in pink raised her head, the angry reprimands that had nearly left their lips stopped in time.

The girl’s tearful face was delicate and moving, pure and captivating.

Shu Tiantian, secretly observing, had just taken a sip of tea—she immediately choked violently.

Good heavens—wasn’t this the female protagonist she had never met, yet who had almost secretly had her killed?

Just from seeing that face—thirty percent similar—Shu Tiantian guessed this person was Ling Ruoshui.

In a flash of realization, Shu Tiantian suddenly understood what Ling Ruoshui intended to do.

They already looked somewhat alike, and their ages were close. Ling Ruoshui was also a medical cultivator. Though her talent did not match Shu Tiantian’s, she was still outstanding among her peers. Even without the fortuitous encounters she gained later in the novel, her future would still make her a formidable medical cultivator.

When Shu Tiantian had read the novel, she thought Ling Ruoshui had no interest in alchemy and only loved raising fish and flowers (and pursuing unattainable beauties). But… that was the second floor. From the sheer force of that fall, Shu Tiantian decided to take back her words—this was also someone ruthless when it came to pursuing her ambitions.

A cool voice behind her said, “People of the Upper Realm have tangled networks of influence behind them. If you don’t want to die too quickly, don’t rashly step forward.”

Only after the person lifted the curtain and left did Shu Tiantian belatedly realize—was he… giving her a warning?

She quickly got off the carriage and hurried after him, wanting him to elaborate. But the cloaked Void Abyss Old Ancestor only pressed down his veiled hat, slowed his steps so she could follow, and said nothing more.

When Song Shao saw his cousin Ling Ruoshui being helped up and apparently taken to a nearby medical hall by the Upper Realm people, he let out a sigh of relief. At the same time, he guessed the Ling family’s intentions and naturally had no desire to interfere. Instead, he attentively escorted his distinguished guests personally to the registration area.

This was also a rule of the Song family. Anyone wishing to bid on auction items had to display corresponding purchasing power, to prevent people from pretending to be wealthy beyond their means—though such people rarely made it out of Void Abyss anyway, they still disrupted order.

Thus, aside from the final mysterious items, cultivators could view the list of auction items and had to record what they wanted before drawing a number.

Shu Tiantian’s goal was very clear—the thousand-year jade marrow. Song Shao led them toward Auction Item Number Thirteen to draw a number. Who would have thought that upon turning the corner, they ran straight into that same group of Upper Realm cultivators they had just seen.

Even Song Shao, skilled in dealing with all kinds of people, could not help but break into a cold sweat. When he received them yesterday, they had only said they would observe—they had not even looked at the item list. Presumably they disdained objects from the Lower Realm. Who knew that they must have heard news of the thousand-year jade marrow, and so…

The Upper Realm was rich in spiritual essence and abundant in talent. Cultivators who ascended there from the Lower Realm were treated coldly—let alone these envoys who had descended from the Upper Realm. When they looked at others, it was no different from looking at ants.

The Chu-surnamed cultivator leading them cast a displeased look toward Song Shao. Song Shao knew—this time, even if he wanted to reserve it for his benefactor…

But he likely did not know—by sheer coincidence, standing beside Song Shao’s benefactor was an old ancestor who regarded everyone as ants.

The Chu-surnamed cultivator leading the group was at the Deity Transformation stage. Every member of his party possessed extraordinary strength, directly releasing oppressive pressure to force others to retreat in fear. The pressure of the Deity Transformation stage could make even those at the Body Integration stage unable to control themselves from kneeling.

Who would have thought… the two figures beneath the veiled hats appeared completely unaffected.

They knew all the Deity Transformation cultivators of the Lower Realm. But these two…

The Upper Realm cultivator surnamed Chu narrowed his eyes, probing, and asked, “May I ask who you are? Are you also from a sect of the Upper Realm?”

What they did not know was that if Shu Tiantian had not quickly grabbed the old ancestor’s cloak beneath it, a bloodbath would already have occurred.

The tall youth wearing the veiled hat lowered his gaze, squinting impatiently at her.

The sect name she made up—what was it again?

She hurriedly said, “Gouming Sect!”

Gouming Sect?

As soon as the words fell, the group of Upper Realm cultivators all showed disdain. Clearly, they had never even heard of such a sect.

The Chu-surnamed cultivator narrowed his eyes. A sharp gust accompanied a barrage of silver needles shooting straight toward the shorter figure—the one whose cultivation was clearly pitifully low!

The force carried by the silver needles rushed forward—about to blow off the shorter person’s veiled hat!

In the blink of an eye, the shorter little medical cultivator startled. Seeing that her face was about to be exposed, she immediately whooshed—lifted Void Abyss Old Ancestor’s cloak and burrowed inside.

Void Abyss Old Ancestor: …

The dragon-bone sword, which had just been about to remind Shu Tiantian that the sinful dragon possessed protective true qi and didn’t need to dodge: …..

No one could see the expression beneath the young man’s veiled hat, and thus no one caught the fleeting hint of a smile that flashed past.

When the long-haired youth raised a hand to steady the veiled hat and lazily lifted his golden eyes to look at the white-robed Upper Realm cultivators, his gaze once again filled with cold, violent malice.

Naturally, he did not recognize these ants. But seeing the Heaven and Earth emblem on the garments of these white-haired bird people, distant memories stirred within him. He thought—he probably recognized… the ancestors of these white-haired bird people.