Chapter 163: Bloodshade Rebirth and the Tonic War
The auction continued with rising excitement and heated bids. The Bloodroot Vitality Pill was brought to Su Tianhao's private box in short order, the transaction quick and efficient.
The pill was presented to him respectfully, and he paid the agreed amount—12,000 gold coins, or more precisely, 120 spirit stones.
"Looks like things are working in your favour," Wang Bing chuckled softly. "How many more grade 5 pills do you need?"
"One." Su Tianhao raised a single finger, a pleasant smile crossing his face. With the Bloodroot Vitality Pill secured, he was in a good mood.
"What are you both here for, anyway?" he asked, golden eyes meeting her autumn ones directly.
"Ah!"
Wang Bing's face flushed red. She quickly averted her gaze.
"Hm?" Su Tianhao raised an eyebrow, visibly puzzled.
"Ahem." Elder Xuan cleared his throat deliberately. "Don't mind Bing'er. She can be shy at times."
His tone turned more measured. "We came to the auction because of a rare treasure said to be appearing in the major items section."
"I see."
Su Tianhao didn't press further.
Below, the auction moved on. A new treasure was being unveiled.
Atop the pedestal rested a semi-transparent bottle. It was carefully opened, and the scent that followed was thick and metallic—like blood refined through countless tempers of fire and shadow. Inside lay a single pill, pitch-black with veins of deep crimson pulsing faintly along its surface, almost as if it were breathing. It radiated a heavy, oppressive aura—sinister, yet undeniably invigorating. The temperature in the hall seemed to drop several degrees, yet those with keen senses could feel the violent vitality coiled within, like a feral beast waiting to be unleashed.
"This is the Bloodshade Rebirth Pill," Madam Rou announced, her voice calm yet commanding. "A forbidden-grade vitality pill refined from the blood essence of three spirit beasts, each at the peak of grade 5. It can stimulate the body's regenerative abilities, and if taken during severe injury or at the edge of death—it grants the user a fleeting moment of resurgence. A second chance to live."
Her gaze swept the crowd. "However... it comes at a cost. The pill's energy is wild and domineering. If one's body is too weak, they may well be destroyed from within before the rebirth ever occurs."
A hush fell across the hall.
A pill that promised survival from death—yet flirted so closely with it.
It was not a treasure for the faint of heart.
Before Madam Rou could even announce a starting price—
"15,000 gold coins!"
The voice came from the fifth private box on the VIP floor—sharp, commanding, leaving no room for challenge.
Hiss!
The hall erupted.
"15,000? Madam Rou hadn't even called the starting price!" an elderly man cried out.
"Those VIP big shots... ordinary folk like us can't hope to compete."
"Dammit. I was really looking forward to that pill."
The morale of the audience dropped visibly, the desire draining from their faces like mist beneath morning sun.
Madam Rou's brows knitted slightly, a faint frown crossing her face.
"That voice..." Wang Bing whispered, eyes widening.
Elder Xuan's expression hardened. "Why is that bastard here?"
"You know him?" Su Tianhao asked.
"I'd recognise that voice anywhere," Elder Xuan said. "That's Mo Tianye—Young Lord of the Phantom Blade Faction."
"Oh?" Su Tianhao's eyes flickered with recognition. He glanced at Wang Bing. "So that's the man who wants to marry you?"
"Shut up! I'm not marrying anyone!" she snapped.
"All right, all right." Su Tianhao raised both hands briefly, then turned his gaze back to the stage. His expression settled into something colder.
'Mo Tianye...'
'I already killed one of his men. The others must have reported back to him by now. I need to stay alert.'
"Elder Xuan can you tell me about him?"
"Of course," Elder Xuan replied.
---
Meanwhile, below, the auction remained frozen. The weight of Mo Tianye's words pressed down on the hall like a sword suspended by a single thread.
Reluctantly, Madam Rou pressed forward. "15,000... going once..."
"15,000... going twice..."
"Sold to the gentleman in the fifth private box!"
Bang!
The hall exhaled collectively as the gavel fell.
Madam Rou swayed gently, her composure fully restored. "Please—let us continue, everyone!"
With a few words and a well-placed gesture, she lifted the atmosphere back into place. The hall grew lively once more.
---
The auction continued without issue—but from time to time, Mo Tianye would intervene, using the same domineering approach to claim whatever caught his interest. A raised voice, an inflated bid, and the hall would fall quiet before anyone could mount a response.
"That bastard!" Wang Bing muttered under her breath, frustration building with each intrusion. It was as if when Mo Tianye decided on something, no one else in the room existed.
Su Tianhao's eyes narrowed. 'Someone like him—with resources like that behind him—would be very difficult to deal with.'
According to Elder Xuan, Mo Tianye was a twenty-five-year-old 7th level Martial Soul Realm expert, considered an outstanding genius by any measure. Beyond his cultivation, his position granted him access to wealth and resources that most people couldn't begin to imagine.
Three words came to mind. A formidable foe.
Just then—
"Finally," Madam Rou announced, her voice light and deliberate, "let us unveil the final treasure of the intermediate section before moving on to the major items."
She raised a slender hand. "Who's ready?"
Su Tianhao's eyes sharpened. This was it. If the Raging Viscera Tonic wasn't here, it wouldn't appear at all—the treasures in the major section were beyond his reach for now.
The curtains parted.
Atop the pedestal sat a deep crimson jade bottle shaped like a coiling serpent with its fangs bared, strange runic patterns etched across its surface and pulsing with a fiery red glow. Even from a distance, the raw vitality radiating from it was palpable—wild, untamed, almost beastly. The air around it shimmered faintly as if warped by the life force sealed within. Inside, a thick blood-red liquid sloshed gently, bubbling as though alive, a low hum occasionally escaping from it like the growl of a slumbering beast.
Cultivators across the hall straightened in their seats.
Su Tianhao didn't need the introduction.
"The Raging Viscera Tonic," he murmured, eyes widening slightly.
"Hahaha! The heavens truly favour you, Tian Hao!" Elder Xuan laughed.
Wang Bing turned to him, eyes bright. "Looks like you've gotten what you came for."
"We won't know until I've actually acquired it," Su Tianhao said—though the confidence behind his eyes told a different story.
---
Below, Madam Rou's smile was like moonlight gliding over rippling water—soft, mesmerising, impossible to hold.
"As many of you already know," she said, gesturing toward the jade bottle, "this is the Raging Viscera Tonic. A treasure that rebuilds the inner organs and reinvigorates the life force—granting the user stronger organs, increased vitality, and allowing the body to endure the pressure of spiritual energy far above its natural threshold."
She let that settle.
"A fierce treasure. Born of blood, fire, and ancient alchemy."
Stronger organs. Increased vitality. The ability to endure spiritual energy pressure far beyond one's current level.
The implication was immediate and staggering—a Martial Core Realm expert could consume a pill suited for Martial Soul Realm cultivation and not only survive it, but grow from it. And the same logic extended upward. The possibilities were not lost on a single person in the hall.
The breathing of the crowd turned audible. Eyes flashed with greed.
"Call the starting price!" someone bellowed, as if he couldn't bear the wait.
Madam Rou chuckled. "The starting price is 10,000 gold coins. Each subsequent bid must increase by at least one thousand."
The moment her words fell, the hall erupted.
"11,000!"
"12,000!"
Within moments the bid had climbed to 15,000 gold coins.
In the private box, Su Tianhao's lips twitched. "I underestimated this tonic. It's only a grade 5 medicine, isn't it?"
Elder Xuan shook his head. "It was, until five years ago—when a mysterious Grandmaster Alchemist passed through Longzhou Country and brought with him a recipe that fundamentally changed the tonic's grade and everything people understood about it."
"A Grandmaster Alchemist?" Su Tianhao's eyes sharpened. "The level above Master Alchemist?"
"Indeed," Elder Xuan nodded. "The current Raging Viscera Tonic is a grade 6 medicine—and peak-level within its rank."
"I see."
"20,000!"
"Tian Hao—aren't you going to bid?" Wang Bing asked, her voice carrying a thread of concern.
"It's not time yet," Su Tianhao said calmly, eyes fixed and unblinking.
The price continued its rapid ascent.
"30,000!"
A single commanding voice—and the hall fell silent.
Su Tianhao's lips curved slightly. "Now it's time."
"50,000 gold coins!"
The number landed like a stone dropped into still water.
"Raising by twenty thousand at once—which box is that?!"
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"The third private box! They've been quiet for so long—I didn't think they'd come back like this."
"Tsk. Those VIPs."
Su Tianhao settled back in his seat, satisfied.
"Stole the show again," Wang Bing said, clearly amused.
"Well done, Tian Hao," Elder Xuan said with a laugh. "And at a very reasonable price."
But then, from the fifth private box—sharp and deliberate:
"70,000! Keep up if you can!"
Wooh!
The hall ignited.
"Finally—a clash between VIPs!"
Su Tianhao's expression shifted. He hadn't expected this.
"Dammit! That Mo Tianye is infuriating!" Wang Bing snapped.
Elder Xuan said nothing, but his frown deepened.
Su Tianhao steadied himself.
"80,000 gold coins."
Mo Tianye's response came without pause.
"90,000!"
Dead silence.
Not a sound in the entire hall.
Su Tianhao's aura pulsed—controlled, but sharp. "That man is toying with me."
"What do you mean?" Wang Bing asked quietly.
"He has no intention of actually acquiring the tonic," Su Tianhao said, voice dropping to something cold. "He's using the bid to bait me."
"W-What?" Wang Bing's eyes went wide.
Elder Xuan's frown deepened. "If that's true, then he may be targeting you specifically."
"Could he have discovered Tian Hao's identity?" Wang Bing asked. "Could this be retaliation?"
Elder Xuan considered it. "Possible. But there may be another explanation." He glanced toward the fifth box, then back at Su Tianhao.
"He may have simply found out that we have a guest in this private room—a stranger, invited into the box of the woman he considers his future bride."
He didn't finish the thought. He didn't need to.
"He's jealous," Su Tianhao said flatly.
"Exactly," Elder Xuan said. "And petty enough to act on it."
Wang Bing's expression shifted, guilt flickering across her face. "I'm so sorry... this is my fau—"
"It isn't," Su Tianhao cut her off. "If he wants to play, I'll see it through to the end."
"91,000!"
Mo Tianye's reply came immediately.
"92,000."
His voice was completely indifferent—as if the number meant nothing at all.
Whispers tore through the crowd like fire through dry grass. The heat of the exchange was so intense that even with the formation arrays maintaining the hall's ventilation, the audience seemed to be sweating.
"ENOUGH!"
Su Tianhao's voice cracked through the air like a thunderclap.
"100,000 gold coins. That is my limit. If you want the tonic—take it!"
Silence.
Every eye in the hall turned toward the fifth private box—waiting.
Nothing came.
'Just as I thought,' Su Tianhao noted coldly, watching the box. 'He was never interested in the tonic.'
In his heart, Mo Tianye's name had already been written down.
"100,000 gold coins... going once..."
Madam Rou's voice rang out, bright with barely concealed delight.
"Going twice..."
Bang!
"Sold to the gentleman in the third private box for 100,000 gold coins!"