I am destroying the protagonist in the fantasy world!

Chapter 157: The auction stirs up trouble and the conspiracy gradually emerges

The auctioneer's voice was like a spell, drawing everyone's attention to the auction table. The ancient longsword, emitting a faint cold gleam, was clearly no ordinary item, drawing gasps of amazement from the audience.

"This sword is called 'Frost'. It is made of thousand-year-old cold iron. It can cut hair with a blow and cut iron like mud. The starting price is five thousand spirit stones!" The auctioneer introduced it loudly, his tone full of temptation.

As soon as the words fell, someone began to bid impatiently: "Five thousand five hundred spirit stones!"

"Six thousand!"

"Seven thousand!"

……

The price soared, doubling in the blink of an eye, and the bidders seemed filled with enthusiasm, refusing to give in, determined to win. Lei Yi, however, simply watched with a cold eye. He knew that while the Frost Sword was good, it was not a rare treasure. The frenzied bidding was clearly abnormal.

"Liuli, do you think they are acting?" Lei Yi asked in a low voice, with a gleam in his eyes.

Dongfang Liuli nodded gently, her beautiful eyes gleaming with wisdom. "I find it strange too. Although this sword is good, it shouldn't drive them so crazy, unless..."

"Unless someone is deliberately raising the price." Lei Yi took over her words with a hint of coldness in his tone.

Just as Lei Yi had predicted, this farcical auction ultimately resulted in a staggering price, and the buyer of the Frost Sword was a member of a relatively unknown family. This person's face was filled with pride, as if he had accomplished something truly remarkable. However, Lei Yi detected a subtle hint of panic in his eyes, as if he were simply completing a task assigned to him.

Lei Yi sneered in his heart. He knew that this was just the beginning and the real test was still to come.

Sure enough, when a jade pendant emitting a faint golden light was presented to the auction table by the waiter, Lei Yi's eyes instantly became extremely sharp.

"Everyone, this treasure is called the 'Spirit Gathering Jade Pendant.' As the name suggests, it has the power to gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Wearing it can greatly increase your cultivation speed. It is a rare treasure. The starting price is 10,000 spirit stones!"

As the auctioneer finished speaking, a teasing voice rang out from the private room on the second floor: "Fifty thousand spirit stones!"

This sudden sound made the entire auction hall quiet in an instant. Everyone looked up in surprise, wanting to see who was so wealthy and powerful.

Lei Yi's face also turned a little ugly, because he heard that the owner of this voice was the mysterious man who had clashed with him at the city gate before!

"One hundred thousand spirit stones." Lei Yi took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and said in a deep voice.

"One hundred and fifty thousand." The mysterious man seemed to have expected Lei Yi to make a move, and raised the price again without hesitation.

"Two hundred thousand!" Lei Yi gritted his teeth and raised the price again.

"Three hundred thousand!" The mysterious man seemed to not care about the spirit stones at all, and casually doubled the price again.

Lei Yi clenched his fists tightly. He knew that the other party was deliberately targeting him and wanted to drain all the spirit stones in his hands!

Dongfang Liuli was anxious, but Lei Yi was calmly thinking about countermeasures. He tried to find flaws in the other bidders, but they seemed to be united, their eyes fixed on Lei Yi, as if waiting for his final decision...

Dongfang Liuli gently tugged at Lei Yi's sleeve, her beautiful eyes filled with worry, and whispered, "Lei Yi, how about... let's give up?"

Lei Yi shook his head slightly and whispered, "No, this spirit-gathering jade pendant is of great use to me and must not fall into the hands of others!"

He scanned the crowd, trying to find flaws in the other bidders, but they all seemed united, their gazes fixed on Lei Yi, as if awaiting his final decision. Those who had been bidding on other treasures also paused, watching this sudden battle with great interest, as if it had nothing to do with them.

"Three hundred thousand spirit stones at a time!" The auctioneer's voice sounded on the stage, but he did not rush to drop the hammer. Instead, he looked at Lei Yi with a meaningful look, as if waiting for his response.

Lei Yi sneered inwardly, knowing that the other party was deliberately putting pressure on him, hoping to make him give up. Meanwhile, the mysterious bidder sat calmly in a private room on the second floor, a playful smile on his face, as if he was sure of victory.

"Three hundred thousand spirit stones twice!" The auctioneer's voice sounded again. This time, there was a hint of imperceptible pride in his eyes.

Lei Yi took a deep breath and was about to speak when he suddenly felt someone bump into him, almost making him lose his balance.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean it." A short and fat man said apologetically, but there was a cunning gleam in his eyes.

Lei Yi suddenly felt a sense of alertness in his heart, and he realized that this was no coincidence!

"Three hundred thousand spirit stones for three..." The auctioneer's voice had risen eight octaves, and the gavel in his hand was raised high, about to fall.

"Wait!" Lei Yi stood up suddenly and was about to raise the price when he suddenly heard a low voice in his ear: "Boy, I advise you not to meddle in other people's business, otherwise..."

The voice was full of threats. Lei Yi was startled and turned his head suddenly, only to see that the person who spoke was the one-eyed old man he met in the inn before!

At this moment, the auctioneer's gavel had already fallen heavily...

"Three hundred thousand spirit stones for three times! Deal!" With the heavy thud of the auctioneer's gavel, the Spirit Gathering Jade Pendant finally fell into the hands of the mysterious bidder. Lei Yi clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his flesh, but he was powerless to do anything.

He whipped his head around, his eyes like a hawk fixed on the short, fat man who had deliberately bumped into him. But the man simply shrugged innocently, squeezed through the crowd, and quickly left the auction house. Lei Yi suppressed his fury, knowing now was not the time to lash out. There were even more dangerous beings lurking around.

The auction continued, with rare treasures being brought to the auction table one after another, and bids rising and falling. However, Lei Yi had no interest in watching. His eyes were fixed on the stage, trying to find something among the next items to be auctioned that could replace the Soul Gathering Jade Pendant.

At this moment, an old man with a white beard and plain clothes walked onto the auction platform. He was the auction house's chief appraiser. He took an exquisite wooden box from the maid and slowly opened it, revealing a crystal clear blue bead inside.

"Everyone, this is a thousand-year-old ice bead, an excellent material for refining top-grade ice-attribute magic weapons..." The white-bearded old man began to explain in detail the origin and purpose of this ice bead.

Lei Yi had originally shown no interest in the ice bead, but the words of the white-bearded old man caught his attention: "Of course, this thousand-year-old ice bead is not flawless. It contains an extremely weak trace of fire-attributed spiritual energy. If not handled properly, it will affect the quality of the magic weapon..."

Lei Yi's heart skipped a beat. While these words might seem like a shortcoming, they might actually be an opportunity for him! He carefully observed the reactions of the other bidders and found that most of them didn't care. Only the mysterious bidder had a subtle glint of disappointment in his eyes.

Lei Yi's mouth curled up slightly. He knew that the opportunity had come...

As night fell, Lei Yi quietly left the auction house, but behind him, several dark shadows followed him...

"He finally came out. Notify others and get ready to take action!" A rough voice sounded in the darkness, with a hint of bloodthirsty cruelty.