When Yulou learned that the Patriarch and Wang Rongwen were taking him to the legendary Ghost Market Auction, his heart raced with excitent. A Ghost Market Auction sounded anything but ordinary.
Having devoured countless web novels in his past life, Yulou was intimately familiar with the classic auction tropes made famous by various immortal venerables, emperors, and divine kings. Was it finally his turn to experience an auction firsthand?
However, the way things unfolded was completely different from what Yulou had anticipated.
"Uncle Rongwen, don't we need to conceal our faces?"
"What? Conceal our faces?"
"To attend this kind of auction, shouldn't we hide our identities so we aren't discovered? Doesn't our Wang Clan always prioritize caution?"
"It doesn't matter. For soone like you in the Qi Drawing realm, a disguise is useless anyway. You can't afford anything good regardless. As for the Qi Refining cultivators, whether they mask themselves is entirely up to them. And there is absolutely no need for us to do so. This auction was jointly organized by our Patriarch and the Town Guardian Cultivator, Jiang Baobian."
Well, look at that.
So it turned out he, Wang Yulou, belonged to the faction running the entire house?
"The Town Guardian Cultivator even gets involved in stuff like this?" Yulou asked.
He could hardly fathom the sheer greed of Jiang Baobian. Between the Unity Fee and the Ghost Market Auction, the man truly insisted on taking a cut of every single coin moving through the region.
"The regular revenue of the Clear Stream Market belongs to the Red Lantern Illumination Sect. If a Town Guardian Cultivator wants to line his pockets with extra spirit stones, he only has a few ways to go about it. Do you know where this Ghost Market Auction is being held?"
Wang Rongwen, who was leading the two boys ahead, asked without turning his head. He fully expected that Yulou wouldn't be able to guess.
"Could it be... the Town Guardian Cultivator's Manor?"
"Bright kid! Hahaha! Yes, it is exactly the Town Guardian Cultivator's Manor!"
Wang Rongwen explained further.
"People can organize smaller ghost market auctions privately, but the large-scale ones must be held inside the Town Guardian Cultivator's Manor. No matter his personal style, he is still the Town Guardian Cultivator appointed by the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, which gives him the right to skim a percentage. On the other hand, it also prevents so idiots from accidentally selling things they shouldn't."
Yulou looked at the bustling crowds on the street, feeling a faint sense of absurdity.
If the Clear Stream Market were viewed as a city, the Town Guardian Cultivator from the Red Lantern Illumination Sect was essentially the mayor. And yet, here was the mayor leading an illicit underground market...
What was this supposed to be? An organic combination of systemic grass-roots exploitation and local administration?
It was hard to judge. In a world where supre might was concentrated in individuals, organizational and managent structures were bound to differ completely from the modern mortal world Yulou had lived in previously.
"What qualifies as sothing they shouldn't sell?" Yu'an asked from the side.
"Things banned from circulation by the Immortal Alliance. For instance, spiritual items above rank six, the offspring of a Demon King, unverified cultivation techniques, and the like... None of those are allowed to be traded."
Wang Rongwen rattled off the examples as if counting his own family treasures.
"A Demon King's offspring? People actually sell those?"
In the cultivation novels Yulou used to read, buying spirit beast eggs and young beasts was a common occurrence among cultivators.
Usually, a protagonist would buy the offspring of so divine beast, prompting the creature's parents to hunt them down, only for the protagonist to turn the tables and kill them—triggering an endless cycle of revenge from stronger enemies. Those authors were certainly creative, using that exact plotline to pad out their word counts indefinitely.
"You boys have no idea. Over ten years ago, a disciple of the Sky Serpent Sect bought an egg belonging to an Overturning Mountain Flood Dragon, a Demon General-level Great Demon from the West Sea. That flood dragon fought its way all the way from the West Sea straight to the gates of the Sky Serpent Sect. It caused such a massive uproar that even the True Persons of the Sky Serpent Sect had to intervene."
Arriving at the entrance of the Town Guardian Cultivator's manor, Wang Rongwen didn't even need to speak. His face alone served as a pass, and the low-level cultivators guarding the gate quickly and respectfully invited him inside.
The two young n, who had never seen the world outside their small circle, followed him into the luxurious estate of the Town Guardian Cultivator.
Yulou quietly observed the decorations and the formation arrays within the manor, while also taking note of the auction participants who had already arrived.
Yu'an, however, was still thoroughly engrossed in the story his father had just shared.
"If even a Golden Core True Person intervened, that Overturning Mountain Flood Dragon probably couldn't escape, right?"
"What do you know? The reason the Sky Serpent Sect ranks as an Upper Sect and stands among the 'Top Three Sects' of the Ten Sects of Wunan is that they venerate a celestial snake. That celestial snake possesses a profound cultivation base and happens to be a close relative of the flood dragon species. It stepped in personally and designated the Overturning Mountain Flood Dragon as a guest elder of the Sky Serpent Sect."
A cultivator sect had its gates broken down by a powerful demon, yet instead of fighting back to the death, they chose to make the demonic beast an elder.
Yulou was slightly stunned.
Was this the cultivation world of supre pragmatism?
Here, as long as one's strength was absolute, even a demonic creature could beco an honored guest of human cultivators.
"Just how powerful must that flood dragon and celestial snake be..."
Yu'an murmured longingly.
The spiritual materials from that kind of demonic beast had to be incredibly valuable! Its hide could bear top-tier talismans, its spiritual bones could be forged into magic treasures, and its flesh was undoubtedly a source of imnse nourishnt.
"Alright, go sit down behind the Patriarch. I still have matters to attend to."
After guiding the two youths to their designated seats, Wang Rongwen disappeared into the crowd.
As the Wang Clan was one of the co-hosts organizing today's gathering, he had plenty of operational details to manage.
"Brother, look! Master is over there!"
Sitting behind the Patriarch, Yu'an lost his initial nervousness about attending such a grand event for the first ti. His eyes scanned the room until he suddenly spotted Hongi.
"It's a pity our senior martial sister didn't co," Yu'an added with a hint of regret.
"You can tell her all about what you saw today when we get back."
Yulou's suggestion made Yu'an's eyes light up.
Hearing the brothers'转话, a slight smile played on the lips of Wang Xianmao, who sat directly in front of them.
It reminded him of the days when he and Wang Xianhe used to cultivate and fight side by side.
Those were good tis.
A Qi Refining cultivator, completely enveloped in a heavy cloak that obscured his appearance, stepped into the center of the front hall of the Town Guardian Cultivator's manor.
Clang!
He struck a small gong and bowed to the guests gathered from all directions.
"Without further ado, let the exchange begin! We shall invite our Foundation Establishnt seniors to go first!"
Following the host's introduction, the Town Guardian Cultivator, Jiang Baobian, slowly rose from his seat.
Only then did Yulou actually notice him.
Even though the Town Guardian Cultivator had been sitting right there the entire ti, Yulou had completely failed to register his presence, almost forgetting he existed.
One had to realize that before arriving, Yulou had been intensely curious about this highly clever, corrupt local official!
"Hidden Form in Stillness, Jiang Baobian's divine ability. No need to be surprised."
The Patriarch's voice echoed directly in their minds. Wang Xianmao didn't turn around, using a voice transmission to explain to the two youths behind him.
This was precisely the purpose of bringing them along to see the world: to let them witness the vastness of the cultivation realm and the extraordinary capabilities of other cultivators, so they would be more alert if they ever crossed paths with such individuals in the future.
"There is no need to reply. Just watch closely. If you are curious about sothing, just blink your eyes, and I will explain it to you via transmission."
Yu'an imdiately widened his eyes, not daring to blink randomly anymore.
He behaved exactly like a middle school student in a classroom whose teacher tells everyone to ask questions if they don't understand, yet remains too intimidated to ever actually step forward—Yu'an was precisely that kind of student.
"Everyone, I am Jiang Baobian, the Town Guardian Cultivator of the Clear Stream Market under the Red Lantern Illumination Sect.
Many of you may have heard my na, but we might not be well-acquainted yet. I am a man who thoroughly enjoys making friends. Your presence here today honors .
Up first is a rank-eight spiritual material, Water Jade. It goes to the highest bidder.
Fellow Daoists, you may begin."
Despite the incredibly short physical distance between them, Yulou found himself entirely unable to perceive Jiang Baobian's facial features clearly.
So... this Town Guardian Cultivator truly possessed remarkable power?
Reflecting on this, the sudden uproar within the auction hall instantly broke his train of thought.
Jiang Baobian had rely put forward a single piece of rank-eight Water Jade, yet every single cultivator attending the auction seed to instantly erupt with excitent.
User Comments
0 comments from readers