Chapter 283 Auction
Three days of time passed in a flash.
At dawn on the third day, a drizzle fluttered down from the sky, enveloping the entirety of Maple Leaf City in drizzling mist. When looked at from afar, the entire city was covered in red maple leaves that were red like fire, yet became hazy under the drizzle, causing the scene to have a special charm.
Chen Xi had awoken from his meditation long ago, and he left the inn along with Mu Kui to head towards the Treasure Heaven Pavilion.
Even though it was early in the morning, the streets within all of Maple Leaf City were already weaved with streams of people and extremely bustling. The sounds of discussion about the auction that would be held in the Treasure Heaven Pavilion today could be heard everywhere.
When looking down at the city from the sky, one would be able to see that on the streets that lead to everywhere and were like spider webs in the entire Maple Leaf City were filled with mighty streams and oceans of people, and all of them were heading towards the Treasure Heaven Pavilion. Amidst them were nobles that sat on treasured carriages, dowagers that had spirit beast pets, and young talents that moved in groups of three to five, causing it to be an unprecedentedly grand scene.
The entrance of the Treasure Heaven Pavilion that was 300m wide was already so tightly packed that it was impossible to go through when Chen Xi and Mu Kui arrived, and the number of people that had come to participate in the auction today was obvious.
Chen Xi noticed that amongst the cultivators that had come to participate in the auction, they respectively held two types of invitations. One of them was the ordinary invitation that occupied the largest portion, and they entered through the front without any attendant receiving them.
The other type was a fine gold VIP invitation that only a handful of people possessed, and the arrival of these people was welcomed by special attendants. Moreover, they walked in through a specially opened VIP pathway.
This was probably the difference between ordinary cultivators and VIPs.
Of course, even more people didn’t even possess an ordinary invitation, and these people occupied around 70% of the people present. The reason they’d come to the auction was for the sake of witnessing it as a spectator, and they didn’t have the qualifications to participate in the auction.
During the process of lining up to enter the Treasure Heaven Pavilion, most of the cultivators were discussing animatedly, and all of them held extremely great anticipation and curiosity towards the auction that was about to begin.
“What? Just an ordinary invitation actually requires spending 100 Nascent Condensation Pills?”
“Tch, you call that expensive? Go ask around in the black market. Not to mention 100 Nascent Condensation Pills, even 500 can’t buy one!”
“Why is it like this? Isn’t it only an auction, why are people fighting for the sake of obtaining an invitation?”
“Only you don’t know about this. During the auction this time, a huge number of rare and precious treasures will be appearing, and only those with invitations possess the qualifications to bid, understand?”
Behind Chen Xi was two cultivators that were discussing the auction, and when they saw Chen Xi standing without moving, the short middle aged man amongst them said with displeasure, “Little Brother, move aside if you don’t have an invitation. Don’t waste your time, okay?”
“Could it be that you want to take advantage of the crowd to sneak in? I think you should drop that idea as soon as possible. Not everyone can enter the auction just because they want to!” The other tall middle aged man frowned as well, and he glanced unhappily at Chen Xi as he spoke in disdain.
Chen Xi smiled and didn’t fuss about it with them before walking out of the crowd with Mu Kui, and then he took out the VIP invitation Ya Qing gave him to walk in the auction area under the welcome of a female attendant.
“Fuck, I didn’t see it wrongly right? That kid had a VIP invitation?” The short middle aged man couldn’t help but gasp and cried out in shock when he saw this scene.
“It… It should be.” The tall middle aged man was stunned as well, and he felt extremely embarrassed in his heart when he felt the unusual gazes coming from the surrounding people.
The auction area was extremely large, vast, and magnificent, and it occupied an area of 10km2. Obviously, an expert that possessed great ability had opened up an enormous space here. The surrounding buildings were divided into two floors and they formed a circular shape that surrounded an enormous jade platform at the center.
The VIP rooms were on the second floor, and the VIP room Chen Xi and Mu Kui were in faced the jade platform directly. Their field of vision was extremely vast, allowing them to be able to see everything in their surroundings from within the room, yet the people on the outside were unable to see the situation within the VIP room.
The VIP room wasn’t large, yet was decorated extremely tastefully, and when one sat within it and looked down at the surroundings, it was indeed capable of allowing one to arouse the feeling of being superior and in control of everything.
“Esteemed Guests, you can let me know if you require any service, I’ll be just outside the VIP room.” The female attendant bowed as she finished speaking, and then she turned around and left.
“VIP rooms are great. There’re soft couches to sit on and fine wine to drink.” Mu Kui grinned as he sat on a coach and groaned with comfort.
Chen Xi smiled. “Tell me if a weapon that arouses your interest appears in the auction this time, I’ll bid for it for you.”
“Thank you, Master.” Mu Kui nodded solemnly. Following Chen Xi for such a long period of time had allowed him to gradually feel out Chen Xi’s nature, and he knew that his Master was extremely easy going and didn’t like it when he was courteous, whereas being straightforward caused Chen Xi to be happy instead.
“Fellow Daoist Chen Xi, may I come in?” Right at this moment, Ya Qing’s voice that was pleasant to the ear like the sounds of nature sounded out from outside the VIP room.
“So it’s Miss Ya Qing, please come in,” said Chen Xi.
“I was unoccupied and had nothing to do, so I came to disturb Fellow Daoist Chen Xi. You wouldn’t blame me and drive me out, right?” Ya Qing sat down on a couch at the side as she joked with a grin.
“It’s fine so long as Miss Ya Qing doesn’t drive me out.” Chen Xi smiled. “Not to mention, with Miss Ya Qing present here, you can help introduce some rules of the auction to me, and it’s just the thing I’m looking for.”
Ya Qing’s starry eyes spun about with boundless coquettishness as she chuckled. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to deceive your eyes. Right, I’ve indeed come this time to serve as an attendant for Fellow Daoist.”
Chen Xi waved his hand and said, “There’s no need to be so courteous. Miss Ya Qing, call me Chen Xi as before.”
“How could I dare to disobey the instructions of Fellow Daoist Chen Xi?” Ya Qing blinked as she said with a smile, “I’m extremely curious, why is the Madam so good to you? She instructed us long ago that so long as you appear in the Treasure Heaven Pavilion, then we must entertain you with the highest level of courtesy. Can you tell me the reason?”
“Would you believe me if I said I didn’t know?” Chen Xi replied with a question.
“Of course.” Ya Qing sighed. “The Madam can’t be compared to by ordinary women, and the way she handles things exceeds worldly imagination. Perhaps there’s a deep meaning behind why she did this.”
Right at this moment, a wave of noise arose suddenly from the auction area below, and it turned out that the first treasure had already been sent to the auction platform.
There seems to be many experts present today! During this instant, Chen Xi sensed over 10 extremely formidable Divine Senses shooting out towards the treasure at the center of the platform, and the treasure itself was covered by a damask that possessed dense clouds and mist patterns, and the damask concealed the aura of the treasure beneath it.
Exactly what treasure is actually so mysterious?
Everyone present felt curious, and some formidable Divine Senses even seemed to want to see exactly what it was through the damask.
The strength of Chen Xi’s current Divine Sense was comparable to Rebirth Realm experts, and he clearly sensed that the weakest amongst the Divine Senses that swept out was at the Golden Core Realm, whereas, there were Rebirth Realm experts and even existences that were even more formidable!
What exactly is this first treasure? Chen Xi was extremely curious as well, and he fully circulated the energy of his soul, causing his enormous Divine Sense to converge and condense into a strand, yet he was unable to see exactly what was beneath the damask no matter what. The damask seemed to be a treasure that specialized in concealing aura, and it was formidable to an unbelievable extent.
In this way, Chen Xi instead felt even more curious.
In ordinary auctions, the first treasure was the main attraction, and the final treasure was the grand event, and both of them were extraordinary treasures in the auction.
Presently, the first treasure in the Treasure Heaven Pavilion’s auction actually had its aura concealed by a damask, and it had drawn innumerable gazes onto it.
“Miss Ya Qing, what treasure is down there to the point they made it so mysterious?” Chen Xi turned around and asked.
“I don’t know eitherl. In any case, it’s surely something extremely extraordinary. But I’m sure that the mystery will be revealed very soon.” Ya Qing shrugged and seemed to be extremely elegant. Every expression of this woman carried along an indescribable charm that caused one to be utterly unable to arouse dislike towards her.
Sure enough, a dazzling golden streak appeared on the auction platform at the center after a short period of time. It was a tall and impressive middle aged man with straight eyebrows that slanted down to his temples and a heavy bearing, and his entire body emitted a fierce and baleful aura. He was actually an expert at the Rebirth Realm!
“It’s actually the Soulslaying Sword, Du Feiyu!”
“So it’s him! Supposedly, this person was a formidable independent cultivator in the past that searched for the profundities of the Sword Dao for a few hundred years, and he comprehended a type of soul Dao Insight that was capable of injuring the soul. But didn’t he always act independently? How could he have joined the Treasure Heaven Pavilion?”
“Amazing! Du Feiyu is actually personally presiding over the auction, so the auction this time will surely be extraordinary.”
The scene instantly became clamorous when they saw the tall middle aged man make an appearance, and their voices revealed surprise, bewilderment, seriousness, and admiration.
“Fellow Daoists. The auction of my Treasure Heaven Pavilion this time is of the grandest scale in the recent years. Numerous treasures will be presented today, and all of them are rare and of top quality. As for if these treasures are really as I’ve said, please wait and see.” Du Feiyu swept the surroundings with his gaze and said in a low voice, “I presume everyone knows the rules of the auction, so I won’t give unnecessary details. Next, we’ll start with the auction of the first treasure.”
As he spoke, he raised his hand to pull away the damask. Instantly, a ray of light shot into the sky as the aura of treasures overflowed, and even a wave of sonorous roars that were like the roars of a lion or dragon resounded out, causing it to be an astonishing scene.
When Chen Xi’s gaze looked over, he noticed to his shock that the treasure that caused such a great commotion was actually a dark gold jade slip!
“Hiss! What a shocking scene!”
“This jade slip is too shocking! Could it be that a shocking Dao Grade martial technique is recorded within it?”
“Hmph! Have you seen a Dao Grade martial technique? All the Dao Grade martial techniques in the world are stored within ancient sects and great clans, and every single one possesses a shocking value. Would anyone take one out and place it on auction?”
“Tch, you have no experience, right? Only jade slips that have Dao Grade martial techniques recorded on them would possess such phenomenon. I’d once had the fortune of hearing from a Senior Brother in the Earthly Heaven Sect, all jade slips that possess Dao Grade martial techniques recorded within are refined from costly Heavenly Divine Wood, as ordinary jade slips are utterly incapable of enduring the energy within a Dao Grade martial technique!”
“Heavenly Divine Wood? No wonder a dark gold ray of light emerged from it, so that’s how it is.”
For a time, everyone in the entire auction area was discussing animatedly. Chen Xi naturally wouldn’t start guessing because when he first laid eyes on the dark gold jade slip, he was convinced that it was a Dao Grade martial technique without a doubt!
Because he’d once seen more than one Dao Grade martial techniques in Qian Yuan’s Treasure Vault, and all of them revealed a dark gold color that was exactly the same as the jade slip before him.
“A jade slip that reveals such a sight is rarely seen, and I presume that some Fellow Daoists have already discerned an inkling about this treasure.” The Soulslaying Sword, Du Feiyu, looked at the dark gold jade slip as a trace of envy suffused his eyes, and then he slowly revealed the answer. “This is a Dao Grade martial technique, Snowlion Soundwave!”
“As expected, it’s a Dao Grade martial technique!”
“Snowlion Soundwave! My god! Could it be that it’s a Dao Grade martial technique that contains a sound Dao Insight? Dao Insights of sound are extremely rare as they’re capable of killing others shapelessly and are the most difficult to guard against, so their value is even higher than ordinary Dao Grade martial techniques.”
“It’s a Dao Grade martial technique! Why would someone auction off such a treasure? It’s probably impossible. After all, even the Earthly Heaven Sect that has been passed down for almost 10,000 years until now only possesses 10 plus Dao Grade martial techniques that have been passed down!”
“That’s not necessarily so. Even though Dao Grade martial techniques are rare, its cultivation is extremely harsh as well. Even if it’s obtained by someone, it’s difficult to say if that person will be able to comprehend the Dao Insight contained within the technique.”
After they found out that the first treasure to be auctioned of was a Dao Grade martial technique, the entire scene of the auction instantly went into an uproar, and the faces of everyone was covered in shock and disbelief.
Only Chen Xi’s face carried a slightly peculiar expression as he was stunned instantly when he heard this Dao Grade martial technique was actually the Snowlion Soundwave. Because he’d already seen this Dao Grade martial technique in Qian Yuan’s Treasure Vault!