Chapter 129 - Act 19. Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley (2)

The two followed the attendant deeper into the Affairs Court. Ordinary participants sat in rows in the central main hall on the first floor, each holding a small wooden paddle marked with a number. Every gaze was fixed on the dais at the front.

Small private rooms with light partitions on three sides lined the walls to the left and right of the second floor. Following the entrance attendant, they entered one of them. A servant stood quietly at the doorway with his head slightly bowed. Beside him, a tea set rested on a table, giving off a faint fragrance. The room offered an excellent view of the main hall below.

Yise sat down and looked over the first floor. The Qi Refining Cultivators were seated downstairs, while the Foundation Establishment Cultivators occupied the second floor. Most of those seated upstairs despite being at Qi Refining were Cultivators of the Heavenly Ice Palace.

"The auction will proceed in this order: elixir pills, Qi Refining supernatural treasures, Foundation Establishment supernatural treasures of the standard category, then those of the rare category, followed by our featured lots."

"Is there any way to find out which ritual implements will be offered?"

The servant shook his head at Yise's question.

"My apologies. Information on the lots is confidential."

"All right. I understand."

Yise readily accepted the answer and took a sip of spirit tea.

"Should you need anything, please pull the sacred rope."

"All right."

With that, the servant bowed lightly and withdrew from the room.

Ryu Seonghan asked from beside him, "Senior, is there a particular ritual implement you need?"

"A defensive one."

"I see. What's your budget?"

- One hundred eighty thousand.

Yise conveyed the state of his finances through sound transmission. He saw nothing to gain from letting the nearby Cultivators know.

"Whew. You could easily buy a Foundation Establishment supernatural treasure with that."

Seonghan had known his senior was wealthy, but this wealthy? That was comparable to the entire fortune of a respectable Foundation Establishment city.

"The better items in each category come later. Unless something really catches your eye, it's best to save your stones until the end."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The auction began. Various elixir pills went under the hammer, their owners decided by fierce bidding down to the last spirit stone. For Yise, who had always bought his goods at permanent shops, it was quite an exciting spectacle.

"Our final elixir is the Core Formation Body-Preserving Pill! This pill helps prevent you from becoming crippled even if you abandon a Core Formation breakthrough midway! It has been a very long time since one last appeared. I imagine some of you have been waiting for this!"

The staff member presiding over the auction worked the crowd with his practiced patter. It certainly seemed to be a rare item: the Cultivators, particularly those at Foundation Establishment, reacted with tremendous enthusiasm. The auction hall was in an uproar.

Yise's eyes gleamed with desire as well. With Core Formation just ahead of him, it was precisely the pill he needed. Yet he did not bid. There were ways to obtain a similar pill on the Eastern Continent, albeit under a different name, and even so, he had no intention of using one.

It kept you from becoming crippled if you gave up midway. He had no need for insurance fit only for cowards. If he was going to give up, he would never start in the first place.

The Core Formation Body-Preserving Pill sold for 126,000 spirit stones.

'That's cheaper than I expected.'

At the unexpectedly low price, Yise promptly changed his mind. For that amount, it might be worth keeping one on hand if he had the chance. What was wrong with being a bit of a coward? For now, though, his heart was set on ritual implements rather than elixir pills.

The auction continued, and curious ritual items appeared one after another. The winning bids were roughly comparable to prices on the Eastern Continent. Rare Qi Refining supernatural treasures went for no more than three thousand spirit stones, and standard Foundation Establishment supernatural treasures for between five and ten thousand. Rare Foundation Establishment supernatural treasures varied widely, ranging from ten thousand to a hundred thousand. None, however, exceeded a hundred thousand.

As the auction neared its end, the number of bidders gradually dwindled. Many had already spent their spirit stones, and the remaining supernatural treasures had steep starting prices. A few defensive treasures appeared, but none met Yise's standards. He smacked his lips in disappointment, then reassured himself that at least one treasure of the quality he wanted would turn up.

"Now, we have three lots remaining. Those of you still holding on to your spirit stones should think about joining in!"

The auctioneer brought out a small jewelry box.

"Our next supernatural treasure is the Invasion-Warding Ring. Worn on the finger, this ritual implement creates a qi field—a defensive barrier—when infused with internal reserves. It is said that, if you pour in enough to thicken the field, it can even withstand an attack from a great Core Formation Cultivator!"

"Don't exaggerate!"

Someone shouted from the second floor, drawing a wave of laughter. If it could withstand a Core Formation attack, it ought to be classified as a divine relic already.

The auctioneer gave an embarrassed, forced laugh and continued.

"Ahaha. Of course, I mean it might withstand one. It's a possibility, isn't it? Would anyone care to try it for a demonstration?"

Yise shot his hand up. A compact, easy-to-wear ritual item in the form of a ring. Moreover, a defensive ritual implement whose performance depended on the user's skill at wielding internal reserves. It was exactly the sort of item he had wanted.

The auctioneer swept a quick glance around the hall and spotted Yise. Here was someone sitting in a VIP room who had yet to bid even once. His instincts told him that such a person was likely to lavish a great many spirit stones on a single lot.

"Senior with number five, please give us a demonstration!"

Yise hopped onto the auction dais. From there, he had a clear view of the entire hall.

"Would anyone care to provide the attack?"

Through his divine sense, Yise saw a hand rise in the room right next to his. An early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator. The face was familiar. He was that fellow who had participated in the spell combat tournament for promising young talents of the Dao.

"Oh, isn't that Beom Seo of the Golden Martial Sect?"

As he appeared, murmurs spread through the hall. Many people seemed to recognize him.

"Senior Beom will attack, and, er..."

"Yise."

"Yes. Senior Yise will defend. Let us begin the demonstration. Please moderate your strength so no one else is harmed."

Yise immediately slipped the ring onto his left hand and beckoned to Beom Seo with a flick of his fingers. Beom Seo's eyebrow twitched. Apparently, he had mistaken Yise for someone of a similar realm because Yise had deliberately limited the reach of his divine sense.

"This won't be easy to block. Defend with everything you have."

"Sure. You don't need to hold back, either."

"Very well, fellow Daoist. Tell me when you're ready."

"I'm ready."

Beom Seo formed hand seals and conjured a golden spear. It hovered in the air, its menacing energy aimed at Yise. As soon as he confirmed that Yise was feeding spiritual energy into the Invasion-Warding Ring, he swept his hand forward and sent the spear thrusting out. A translucent barrier formed and collided with the golden spear.

The result exceeded expectations. The qi field absorbed Beom Seo's attack outright and remained completely unblemished. Beom Seo looked surprised as well. Apparently, he had put his best effort into that attack.

This was it. Yise's and Beom Seo's eyes lit up at the same time.

The two returned to their seats, and bidding resumed.

"Bidding for the Invasion-Warding Ring will begin at thirty thousand spirit stones!"

"Thirty-one thousand."

"Thirty-two thousand."

"Thirty-three thousand."

The price climbed rapidly. Only when it reached around fifty thousand did more bidders begin dropping out. Then Beom Seo of the Golden Martial Sect raised his wooden paddle.

"Seventy thousand."

"Seventy thousand! We have seventy thousand! Naturally, those who have tried it know its true worth! Do I hear any more?!"

The auctioneer's gaze turned to Yise. It seemed to say, You want it too, don't you?

'What a sly fox.'

Yise, who had been watching the proceedings, chuckled and raised his paddle. He felt he was being played, but he had nothing against someone quick on the uptake.

"One hundred thousand."

"... One hundred thousand! We have one hundred thousand!"

"One hundred one thousand."

Beom Seo immediately countered. He clearly coveted this treasure as well. But Yise had a great many spirit stones, and he had no intention of giving up an item that had finally caught his fancy.

"One hundred ten thousand."

"..."

Beom Seo, who had been raising the price in petty increments of a thousand, hesitated for a moment. Soon, however, he bid again.

"One hundred eleven thousand."

"One hundred fifty thousand."

"You bastard, that's enough!"

Unable to contain himself any longer, Beom Seo sprang to his feet and glared at Yise through his divine sense.

"Good as it is, that item isn't worth that much. Does an unheard-of independent Cultivator like you even have that many spirit stones?!"

"If you don't have the stones, drop out. Stop driving up the price for nothing. Junior, it seems this fellow next door is raising the price without the stones to back it up. How about making everyone lay out the amount they bid from now on?"

As he spoke, Yise poured a torrent of spirit stones out of his storage pouch. At the seemingly endless stream of mid-grade spirit stones, the auctioneer glanced at Beom Seo. Beom Seo slumped into his seat and flung his paddle aside.

* * *

Yise excitedly toyed with the Invasion-Warding Ring he had won. He slipped it onto his left ring finger, where most other Cultivators wore theirs. Presumably, it got in the way least there. A defensive ritual implement in ring form—what a wonderfully convenient item.

"Senior, are you sure that was all right? I would estimate its fair price at a hundred twenty thousand at most."

"It's fine. It's worth more than that to me."

His constitution gave him twice the internal reserves of others, and Daemudo's cultivation method let him deploy them quickly. In his hands, the treasure would be several times more effective than in the hands of that Beom In or Beom Su fellow next door.

The fellow kept glaring from the next room, pressing his divine sense against Yise's with the look of a man whose lover had been stolen. Yise waved his ringed hand ostentatiously in reply. The crunch of teeth grinding hard enough to break carried over clearly.

"Well, well, things are really heating up! Juniors, fellow Daoists, esteemed Seniors! Only two lots remain! One has been consigned by the Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley. This is a very, very rare item!"

The auctioneer removed a disc from a wooden case that looked to be eight cheok long.

"This item was passed down as an heirloom in a now-fallen clan. It is a flying supernatural treasure that contains the principles of the Ryu Family Wind God Art, allowing one to cover a thousand li in a single burst! It even comes with an effect that generates a countercurrent during flight to ward off the cold!"

At that instant, Ryu Seonghan, who had been quietly watching the auction while eating refreshments, shot to his feet, his eyes bloodshot. Yise immediately realized what the treasure was. It was probably an heirloom passed down in Seonghan's family, the Ryu Clan.

The Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley had brazenly consigned an item looted from a clan they had exterminated with their own hands to the Heavenly Ice Palace's auction. As though there were nothing wrong with doing so. It was conduct that all but mocked the slaughtered clan.

The ritual implement's demonstration began, and its price rose swiftly. Yise felt tempted to lend Seonghan the stones to buy it, but even pooling everything he had left with Seonghan's funds probably would not be enough. Soon, it sold to Beom Seo next door for ninety-seven thousand spirit stones, just shy of a hundred thousand.

Yise glanced at Seonghan. His face was calm, as though he had brought his inner demon under control.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. If you're thinking of seizing it for me, please don't. This auction is run by the Heavenly Ice Palace. One wrong move could make you a wanted man."

"What are you talking about? I never intended to go that far for you."

"..."

"Still, there might be another way."

Unable to peer into Yise's divine sense or mental imagery, Ryu Seonghan could not tell why he was grinning.

On their way back to their lodgings after the auction, they sensed someone following them.

"Senior. Did you notice?"

"Yes. I've been watching from the start."

The man approaching them was none other than the winning bidder for the Ryu Clan's heirloom: Beom Seo of the Golden Martial Sect.

"You two. Stop right there."

Yise stopped in his tracks and turned around, his face expressionless.