The sun over the Eastern Low Realms was swallowed by drifting clouds as Li Xuan's command center moved into complete shadow. Within the hidden core of the Thousand Vein Auction Pavilion, a convergence of karmic threads pulsed with vibrant, threatening life. The atmosphere grew heavier as formations activated, one after another, sealing the auction house from the eyes of gods and even karmic seekers.
Li Xuan sat cross-legged at the apex of the Karma Convergence Array, the Voidheart Enlightenment Sutra flowing silently within his sea of consciousness. Pain surged through his nerves like liquid fire. Each breath pulled a thousand illusions into his mind, each step into meditation made the soul scream silently. And yet, his eyes remained half-closed, tranquil and indifferent.
"Six more have been taken," reported Ye Qinglan, one of the forty-nine elites, kneeling just outside the array's edge. "The hidden sects resisting your decree in the Eastern Edge have been eradicated. Their karma has been devoured."
Li Xuan didn't respond immediately. The golden glow around his body dimmed slightly before erupting again like a phoenix reborn through suffering. When he finally opened his eyes, his voice was soft but resonant with terrifying will.
"We proceed to phase three. Bring forth the auction."
A storm of activity rippled across the Lower Realms. Banners bearing the sigil of the Heaven Auctioneer fluttered in ancient cities, border zones, war-torn ruins. The Seven Generals, cloaked in spiritual veils, enacted their roles with quiet efficiency. One managed the security of the artifacts, another the recruitment of regional powerhouses desperate for a single boon, and yet another controlled the flow of rumors—whispers of a treasure that could alter one's karmic destiny.
As the preparations completed, a surge of visitors entered the hidden auction realm. Representatives from three dozen peak sects, wandering sovereigns, rogue kings, and even minor godblood scions entered, drawn by the lure of what none could attain through strength alone: karmic sanctification.
Li Xuan watched them arrive through a hidden projection. None saw his true form; only the masked host, one of the seven generals, conducted the event. But every treasure offered, every conflict sparked, and every alliance formed unfolded under his silent orchestration.
A shattered shard of a Celestial Memory Stone. An Unborn Dao Egg, pulsing with sealed potential. Even a drop of blood from an extinct Ancient Flame Kirin.
The bidders fought through words, threats, and fortune, not blades. That was the nature of Li Xuan's auctions—power without violence, submission without chains.
In the shadows of the control hall, Li Xuan channeled the karmic flows produced from every desperate desire in the auction. They surged into him, reforging the Voidheart Sutra further. Understanding of cause and effect flowed through his veins, whispers of past lives and unrealized futures playing like a symphony across his soul.
Pain returned, worse than before. Yet Li Xuan endured. It was not physical power he sought, but absolute perception.
By the time the final treasure was sold and the crowd dispersed, alliances were shattered, realms destabilized, and seeds of future wars silently sewn. Li Xuan stood alone, blood seeping from his eyes.
"Soon," he murmured, "I will see karma as the heavens see it."
And with that, he turned to face the ancient gate buried beneath the auction house—a relic from a forgotten realm, humming with truths no living mortal had yet dared approach.
---
End of Chapter 41