The announcement caused a mild stir, mostly among older rogue cultivators and wealthy eccentric collectors, with the bids slowly climbing past three hundred stones.
Up on the private balcony, Shen Yu's playful demeanor suddenly vanished.
The exact moment the tattered map was lifted from the jade box, a sudden, violent vibration rippled through the interior of his spatial ring.
Deep within his personal storage ring, an identical fragment of the tattered map, one he had gotten from the system store a few weeks ago, began to flutter frantically, its ancient fibers pulsing with a hidden, resonant heat that only he could feel.
His pupils narrowed to razor-thin slits as he stared intently at the stage.
For the first time all afternoon, a genuine interest flashed across his handsome face.
While the crowd only saw a useless, broken map of an unknown wilderness, the sudden resonance within his spatial ring allowed Shen Yu to perceive the truth.
That wasn't just a random scrap of paper.
