Okay, here’s the rewritten version with improved grammar, clarity, and maintaining the Xianxia style:

**Chapter 49: The Trial**

A short while later, within the underground halls of a seemingly ordinary cave dwelling…

A white-robed figure wearing a crimson mask greeted the two visitors, laughing, “I have long heard of the illustrious ‘Five Gods of Yutian’ from the Yutian Family. Never did I expect that Lord Marquis would dispatch the two strongest among them to me.”

“My second brother is the family’s most powerful. I am far inferior, not even ranking among the top three in our clan,” the woman with an icy aura chuckled softly. A chilling cold emanated from her, causing the temperature of the entire hall to plummet.

“You are Bloodcloud?” The burly figure scrutinized Bloodcloud Divine Lord. “Wearing a mask, concealing your aura… afraid to show your true face?”

Bloodcloud Divine Lord continued to smile at the pair. “After all, I must remain hidden within the borders of Yu Country for a prolonged period. It is best to be cautious.”

“Hmph.”

The imposing figure stated matter-of-factly, “Lord Marquis should have informed you of our arrival in Huyang City, brother and sister.”

“Indeed. You were sent to aid me in obtaining Huyang City’s complete array diagram,” Bloodcloud Divine Lord confirmed.

“The three of us will be acting together, and there must be a hierarchy. However, Lord Marquis did not specify who should take the lead. As I see it, we should have a trial by combat,” the muscular man declared.

Bloodcloud Divine Lord regarded the siblings, nodding slightly. “I have long been aware of the renowned Yutian Hu and Yutian Yi. I too am eager to test your mettle. The two of you may join forces.”

“Join forces?” Both the burly man and the ice-cold woman’s expressions shifted subtly.

They were both immensely proud.

A two-on-one fight? That would be an insult to their honor.

“I alone am sufficient to deal with you,” the powerfully built figure stated confidently.

“If you can defeat my second brother, we siblings will naturally heed your commands,” the icy woman added.

“Very well. I have heard tell that Yutian Hu, the Yutian Family’s strongest, has awakened a unique bloodline, and his body refinement techniques have reached an incomprehensible level,” Bloodcloud Divine Lord said, fixing his gaze on the muscular man. “Today, I shall put it to the test.”

As he spoke, Bloodcloud Divine Lord released a large ship-shaped treasure, which landed in the center of the hall.

“Please.”

Bloodcloud Divine Lord, Yutian Hu, and Yutian Yi all flew into the interior of the grand ship-treasure. After all, their level of combat would create too great a disturbance. Fighting within the treasure would ensure that the battle’s effects would not be revealed to the outside world.

Thus, the three most powerful figures of the Shi Country forces within Huyang City began their contest inside the ship-treasure, a battle completely unnoticed by the outside world.

A short time later, three figures emerged.

“Within Huyang City, it is widely believed that Divine Lord Luohe possesses an extraordinary divine body, capable of piercing the mechanical-flow treasure ‘Jade Qilin’ with a single hand. Yet, in my estimation, your divine body, Brother Yutian Hu… is likely even stronger,” Bloodcloud Divine Lord praised. “Even the legendary Infinite Divine Body would likely struggle to surpass you. With Brother Yutian Hu’s assistance, our chances of acquiring Huyang City’s array diagram are greatly improved.”

“My second brother’s divine body can be said to be the pinnacle of the bloodline cultivation path among Eternal True Gods,” Yutian Yi said, gazing at Bloodcloud Divine Lord in astonishment. “Never did I expect you would still be defeated by you, Divine Lord.”

Through this brief exchange, the siblings realized how deeply Bloodcloud Divine Lord had been concealing his strength.

Having hidden his true identity for so long, Bloodcloud Divine Lord did not have a great reputation, but his power far exceeded their expectations.

“In my cultivation to this day, you are the one I have seen with the deepest accumulation among the Eternal True Gods,” Yutian Hu acknowledged with some admiration. “In our fight, you used five different Chaos Realm techniques. Having comprehended so many Chaos Realm techniques, one could say you have one foot already inside the Chaos Realm.”

“I do not know,” Bloodcloud Divine Lord replied, shaking his head. “I have always been accumulating, and I always feel as though I am drawing closer to the Chaos Realm. However, countless years have passed, and I remain stuck at the Eternal True God level.”

“Bloodcloud Divine Lord, have you perhaps also cultivated in the Law lineage?” Yutian Yi inquired.

“Indeed,” Bloodcloud Divine Lord admitted. “Being trapped at my bottleneck for so long, I attempted to comprehend the Laws. As my understanding of the Laws increased, I was also able to more effectively tap into my bloodline’s potential. The two cultivation systems are not contradictory, but instead, complement each other.”

“Your comprehension is indeed far superior to mine, Bloodcloud Divine Lord,” Yutian Hu conceded. “I admit defeat wholeheartedly. In this operation, my sister and I will listen to your commands, Bloodcloud Divine Lord.”

Yutian Yi nodded in agreement.

Seeing the siblings’ acquiescence, Bloodcloud Divine Lord secretly breathed a sigh of relief, finally earning their respect.

“Within Huyang City, the City Lord’s Mansion’s greatest advantage is their ‘home-field advantage.’ This so-called ‘home-field advantage’ is, in reality, Huyang City’s grand array,” Bloodcloud Divine Lord explained. “Huyang City’s grand array has been continuously refined by generations of experts. Once the various powers of this array are unleashed, our strength will be greatly suppressed.”

Yutian Hu and Yutian Yi both nodded in agreement.

“The array diagram is the core of Huyang City, and it is the most closely guarded secret,” Bloodcloud Divine Lord continued. “When it comes to the most heavily protected location in Huyang City, it is undoubtedly the City Lord’s Mansion. I suspect… that the array diagram is located within the City Lord’s Mansion.”

“Knowing that, what can we do?” Yutian Hu and Yutian Yi both frowned, feeling troubled. “Surely you aren’t suggesting we charge right in?”

The defenses of the City Lord’s Mansion were too formidable. The City Lord’s Mansion was akin to a colossal mechanical-flow treasure, filled with countless dangers.

“There is no need to rush. Lord Marquis has granted us one Epoch’s time, and we have plenty of it,” Bloodcloud Divine Lord said. “As a first step, I intend to capture alive all the experts who have repaired Huyang City’s array. Having repaired the array, they must possess some understanding of it.”

“From them, we will first gather sufficient information about Huyang City’s array. They may even know the location of the complete array diagram,” Bloodcloud Divine Lord explained.

“How many experts in Huyang City have repaired the array?” Yutian Hu and Yutian Yi were unfamiliar with the details.

“Many have repaired it throughout history, but there are currently nine within Huyang City!” Bloodcloud Divine Lord revealed. “One has already joined our side. The other eight, however, will be problematic.”

“Capture eight Eternal True Gods?” Yutian Hu and Yutian Yi felt no pressure at all.

Bloodcloud Divine Lord waved his hand, causing detailed information about seven Eternal True Gods to appear in the air. “These are our targets – these seven Eternal True Gods.”

“Seven? But you said there were eight,” Yutian Hu and Yutian Yi asked, puzzled.

“One who repaired Huyang City’s array is named Shang Tianyan,” Bloodcloud Divine Lord clarified. “He is skilled in refining artifacts and the mechanical-flow lineage. He is one of Huyang City’s leading artifact-refining masters. However, he is Divine Lord Luohe’s best friend in Huyang City. If we attempt to capture Shang Tianyan, we are likely to attract Divine Lord Luohe.”

“Divine Lord Luohe?” Yutian Hu sneered. “Before we came to Huyang City, my sister and I familiarized ourselves with the intelligence on all of Huyang City’s Eternal True Gods. I heard that this Divine Lord Luohe rarely makes a move.”

“He killed Blood Serpent Hall’s leader, Mu Yang, pierced the Huyang Guard’s mechanical-flow treasure ‘Jade Qilin’ with a single hand, and the assassin Shadowcang is also likely dead by his hand,” Bloodcloud Divine Lord affirmed, nodding. “He does indeed act infrequently.”

“Who has seen him fight Shadowcang? Who says he definitely killed him?” Yutian Hu countered, shaking his head. “Even if he killed Shadowcang, Shadowcang was merely an assassin, known for his stealth, assassination, and escaping to preserve his life. No one has ever claimed that he had a strong divine body.”

“A mediocre divine body would lead to death upon failure,” Yutian Hu continued. “As I see it, his strength may not be so great. It is merely that he happened to be Shadowcang’s nemesis.”

“The various forces in Huyang City have never seen Divine Lord Luohe and Shadowcang fight, yet they are so frightened?” Yutian Yi added, shaking her head as well. “As I see it, since he is an Eternal True God, he likely isn’t much stronger than us. My second brother, and you, Bloodcloud Divine Lord, are both at the pinnacle of the Eternal True God level in all respects. Just how strong could this Divine Lord Luohe possibly be?”

“Perhaps you are right,” Bloodcloud Divine Lord conceded, nodding. “However, our mortal enemy is the City Lord’s Mansion! The City Lord’s Mansion’s mortal enemy is us! In this situation, neither side wishes to create unnecessary troubles and gain an uncontrollable opponent. This Divine Lord Luohe does not seek power or benefits. There is no reason for us to provoke him.”

“For the sake of the mission, let us ignore him for now,” Yutian Hu and Yutian Yi agreed, knowing the importance of the matter.

“Our first step, to capture these seven Eternal True Gods, must be meticulously planned,” Bloodcloud Divine Lord stressed.

“Understood.” Although Yutian Hu and Yutian Yi doubted Divine Lord Luohe’s strength, they were wary of the City Lord’s Mansion, as it was backed by the ancient Nine Jiang Marquis, and by the Godkings of Yu Country.

They could not act rashly against Divine Lord Luohe, lest the City Lord’s Mansion take advantage of the situation and request assistance from above.

However, in dealing with the Shi Country’s forces, the City Lord’s Mansion could legitimately request support.

******

As night enveloped Huyang City, Luo Feng sat atop the highest peak of his own cave dwelling, drinking wine and contacting Molimeng and Zhuyou.

“Ten days have passed, and I expect you have carefully considered it,” Luo Feng transmitted messages to each of them. “You have both been to my cave dwelling and felt the power of the mechanical-flow treasure, ‘Sword of Realms’.”

“Make your offers. There will be multiple parties competing, and the highest bidder will win.”

In truth, Luo Feng had only contacted these two parties.

However, Molimeng and Zhuyou did not know exactly how many factions Luo Feng had contacted.

“1.5 million Cosmos Sand,” Molimeng bid.

“1.3 million Cosmos Sand,” Zhuyou also offered his price.

Luo Feng replied, “The current price is 1.5 million Cosmos Sand.”

In truth, Luo Feng had also gone to the Yanfeng Hall in recent days to inquire about the treasure, and the Yanfeng Hall was willing to purchase it for 1.4 million Cosmos Sand. However, Luo Feng was unwilling to sell it to them, because for the Yanfeng Hall, whose commercial network virtually covered the Origin Continent, what treasures had they not seen? They were only willing to offer a relatively low price.

“1.55 million Cosmos Sand,” Zhuyou transmitted a message. In fact, seated beside Zhuyou at this moment was a gentle woman.

“Divine Lord Wei, the price competition is fierce. Divine Lord Luohe said that the price has risen to 1.65 million Cosmos Sand,” Zhuyou said to the gentle woman.

This gentle woman was a hidden powerhouse within Huyang City.

Even the Zhushi Clan was wary of this woman.

“Increase the bid by five hundred thousand Cosmos Sand each time,” the gentle woman instructed.

“1.75 million Cosmos Sand.”

“1.9 million Cosmos Sand.” Each time Zhuyou quoted the price, he paid attention to the reaction of the woman beside him.

“Tell that Luohe that two million Cosmos Sand is my final offer. I will not go any higher,” the gentle woman said.

Zhuyou nodded.

After stating the final price…

Zhuyou waited a moment before revealing a delighted expression, saying, “Two million Cosmos Sand. The Sword of Realms belongs to Divine Lord Wei.”

“It’s not a loss to buy it for two million Cosmos Sand. After all, who knows when we’ll next come across such a mechanical-flow treasure capable of condensing Chaos Divine Power,” the gentle woman said with a smile.

“Divine Lord Luohe will personally deliver the Sword of Realms to the Zhushi Clan later. Does Divine Lord Wei want to meet Divine Lord Luohe?” Zhuyou inquired.

“It is not appropriate for me to show my face,” Divine Lord Wei replied, shaking her head.

Zhuyou understood.

……

On the other side, several divine-power avatars of the City Lord’s Mansion were gathered.

“Two million Cosmos Sand? Is this Luohe deliberately inflating the price? How could a Sword of Realms be worth so much?” A white-haired elder frowned. “That price is too high. We will pass.”

“If it is an inflated price, this Divine Lord Luohe will lower the price and come looking for us again,” a companion said.

Molimeng was responsible for contacting Luo Feng.

“The final price for the Sword of Realms is two million Cosmos Sand. It has already been sold,” Molimeng said, looking at the few figures around him.

“Sold already?” The white-haired elder was stunned.