C31

On the morning of the third day, at Wan An Inn.

The morning sun gradually illuminated the room. On the bed, Zhou Qing, who was sitting cross-legged also slowly opened his eyes, a bright light flashing in his eyes.

After getting off the bed, he casually stretched his body. His joints let out a crackling sound and a tyrannical aura followed suit.

After two days of closed door cultivation and nearly three hundred Soul Concentrating Pills, he finally managed to stabilize his somewhat weak cultivation.

The auction would begin this morning. Zhou Qing went downstairs and casually ordered some food, intending to head there after a short rest.

Just as he sat down, a clamor sounded out from outside the inn. Moments later, the innkeeper with a panicked expression walked in quickly.

"Master Song, he seems to be your friend outside!"

Zhou Qing frowned slightly. Without saying anything, he got up and walked out of the inn. When he saw the person outside, his pupils couldn't help but constrict.

It was the middle-aged woman who once joined his party to hunt the Green Winged Dragon Eagle, Liu Ru!

At this moment, Liu Ru was in an extremely sorry state. Her face was pale and her dress was torn. Her entire body was covered in dried black blood and her aura was extremely weak. From her collarbone to her lower abdomen, there was a terrifying knife wound. Blood could still be seen dripping from the wound.

"What happened?"

Zhou Qing spoke, his expression turning ugly as he faintly guessed what was going on.

"They... Their people come for revenge... Wang Liang and Xu Dong are both dead … "

Liu Ru spoke with great difficulty, the pain was accompanied by fear, and Zhou Qing's fists were clenched tightly as his face turned ashen.

In the battle of the Green Winged Dragon's Lair, the Heavy Sword Sect members wanted to cut off this man's mouth to kill him, but they ended up getting killed instead. This was something that they brought upon themselves, and they couldn't blame anyone else.

But now, they were taking revenge against him. If he wasn't in White Ridge City, he would have been attacked a long time ago!

"Heavy Sword Sect, Gu Canghai."

Zhou Qing muttered as killing intent appeared in his eyes. After a long time, it gradually disappeared.

"You stay here to recuperate. I'll think of a way to deal with this."

The Zhou and Lan families were eyeing him covetously. The hundred sects were searching everywhere, and Elder Dong of the Red Dust Sect also needed to investigate. Now that there was another Heavy Sword Sect, the pressure on Zhou Qing became heavier and heavier.

Right now, the most urgent task was to quickly increase his strength.

Without power, everything was just talk!

After temporarily placing Liu Ru in an inn, Zhou Qing left for the auction.

The auction house was located at the south side of White Ridge City. It was a round building that was similar to the Beast Battling Arena and covered a wide area.

As the host, the company was rich and imposing, the auction house was not bad either. It could accommodate almost fifty thousand people, and the decorations were magnificent. It was like a giant beast lying in a corner of White Ridge City.

With such a majestic structure, even Zhou Qing, who had seen great storms and great waves, couldn't help but exclaim at the terrifying strength of the company.

He showed his Demon Hunt Squad Token to the guards at the entrance, and after verification, Zhou Qing was allowed to enter, following the stream of people to their seats.

The venue was specially designed for the auction, with a huge auction platform at the center. The densely packed seats surrounded the entire auction platform, and the design was extremely exquisite. No matter where one was, they could clearly see the auction platform.

When Zhou Qing entered, the auction hall was already in an uproar.

The upper level was filled with Spirit Opening Realm cultivators with the largest number, over ten thousand in number. Many were excitedly discussing something with eyes full of anticipation.

In the middle level, only people who had reached the Condensing Reality Realm could sit.

Compared to the upper echelons, the thousands of Spirit Condensation Realm cultivators were much calmer.

A Soul Condensation cultivator might not be that strong, but he was definitely not weak either. He was much more wealthy than a Spirit Opening Cultivator, and as such, these people were the main customers for the auction.

As for the bottom level closest to the auction table, it was the exclusive seat for Spirit Realm Mages. Of course, the families, disciples and the like that could also sit here.

There were about a dozen Mages present this time. Zhou Qing's gaze swept across them one by one, and he recognized many familiar faces. His cultivation had not been wasted before, and he had interacted with these people.

The Sect Leader of the True Virtuous Gate, Zhao Po, was at the early stage of the Spirit Realm.

The Great Elder of the Southern Sword Valley said coldly.

At the entrance of the ancient monument, the Great Elder, Tang Ji, was at the middle stage of the Spirit Realm.

The Lan Clan's elder, Lan Qingyun, was also Lan Ning's fourth uncle, at the middle stage of the Spirit Realm.

Then there was Chu Tianyu, and Elder Dong from the Crimson Flame Sect … The auction had attracted close to a dozen mages, and it was evident how influential the company was.

When entering the arena, everyone would be assigned a seat according to their strength. Just as Zhou Qing walked towards the middle level, his footsteps paused, and his face darkened.

He was being watched.

A domineering pressure, accompanied by a cold killing intent, came from not too far away. It caused Zhou Qing's hair to stand on end, and a sense of danger rose in his heart.

Raising his head to look coldly, Zhou Qing instantly found the source of the pressure.

A burly, black-robed middle-aged man with long hair draped over his shoulders was staring at him with a sinister expression, like a venomous snake eyeing its prey with slightly red eyes.

Zhou Qing had seen this person before, so he recognized him instantly.

The head of the Heavy Sword Sect, Gu Canghai!

"They came really fast …"

Zhou Qing muttered. He ignored Gu Canghai's terrifying gaze that seemed as if it could swallow him whole as he sat down.

In the auction, fighting was strictly prohibited, even for a Spirit Realm expert. He, Gu Canghai, didn't have the guts to provoke the Wan An Merchant Guild.

However, staying in White Ridge City the whole time was not in line with Zhou Qing's personality.

He had to think of a way to deal with this poisonous snake, Gu Canghai, as soon as possible.

Just as he was deep in thought, the crowd suddenly became restless. Zhou Qing's brows twitched as he looked towards the source of the sound.

Boom.

Following a deep muffled sound, a dazzling light suddenly lit up on the auction stage and shone down.

It was a spirit stone dug out from the spirit vein. It contained spirit energy, and when activated, it would emit a white light. The brighter the light, the higher the quality of the spirit stone.

However, the spirit stone floating above the auction platform was extremely dazzling. Its quality was definitely above middle rank and it was the best resource for cultivation. However, it was only used for lighting up right now.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As the first illumination stone lit up, a low and deep sound could be heard. In an instant, the originally dark auction stage was lit up as bright as day.

Just the lighting alone cost him ten high quality spirit stones!

"He really is rich."

Zhou Qing smacked his lips in amazement. It wasn't just him, other than the ten plus mages sitting in the front row who were calm and composed, all the other participants in the meeting revealed envious looks.

"It is my Chamber of Commerce's fortune to be able to find time to come and participate in the auction while everyone is busy!"

A hearty laughter suddenly resounded through the entire venue. Immediately after, a white-haired old man wearing a cloth shirt walked up the auction platform in large strides.

"Whoa, it's actually Old Hai!"

Tens of thousands of people in the audience cried out in surprise the moment the old man appeared. This time, even the people in the front row were shocked.

Hai Zun Tian was the vice president of the Vast Expanse Chamber of Commerce, the top mage expert on the Profound Heaven Continent. With the title of "Half-step Daoist Master", it showed just how powerful he was!

After waiting for a while, Hai Zun Tian pressed his hands together and spoke with a smile. With the support of the vast amount of spirit energy in his body, his voice resounded throughout the entire venue.

"Thank you for your enthusiasm. "Time is of the essence. The auction will begin now!"

"Next, please state today's first auction item."

As soon as Hai Zun Tian finished speaking, a beautiful female cultivator dressed in sexy attire held onto a jade plate and stepped onto the stage. The tens of thousands of gazes in the arena were burning with passion as they focused on the jade plate.

"Demon Slaying Sabre, a mid-grade Three Inscription Magic Tool." This blade was used a hundred years ago by the number one ranked Demon Hunt Squad, Zheng Fan.

Hai Zun Tian removed the red cloth from the jade plate, revealing the Demon Slaying Sabre.

This was a broad saber that was half a person long, and on the body of the saber were three engravings of profound mysteries. The blade was suffused with a cold glint and a faint red hue. It was because of the excessive amount of blood that had been poured onto it, causing the smell of blood to seep into the blade.

Hai Zun Tian's expression was indifferent as he raised the Demon Slaying Sabre. As he circulated his spirit energy into the saber, the three inscription patterns instantly lit up.

Boom.

A powerful aura that carried with it a murderous aura shot up to the sky in an instant!

A few of the weaker Spirit Opening Realm cultivators were intimidated by this fearsome blade aura, and their faces instantly turned deathly pale as their spirit energy circulation became sluggish.

"Demon Slaying Sabre, starting price, 300 points, 1000 gold. Each increment must not be less than 500 gold. Everyone, you can bid." Hai Zun Tian smiled and said.

The auction suddenly quieted down. After a while, sounds of bidding could be heard from all directions.

"2000 gold!"

"I bid 3,000 gold. Li Xuan, your cultivation is too low, so don't humiliate this treasured saber!"

"Bullsh * t, we're both in the same realm, don't joke with each other!" 3500 gold! "

The sounds of bidding rose one after another as the price of the Demon Slaying Sabre quickly rose. Many people's faces turned red with excitement.

Zhou Qing had been training hard all this time, and had never attended such a large-scale auction before. At this moment, he was also engrossed in watching, but there was no intention to bid.

Although the Demon Slaying Sabre was quite famous, it was still a mid-grade Three-Inscribed Sword. Compared to the top-grade weapons left behind by the Divine Corpse Grandmaster, it was far inferior.

As time passed, the sounds of bidding also lessened. In the end, the Demon Slaying Sabre was auctioned off for 6500 gold.

Following that, another five items were auctioned off. Two mid-grade magic tools, one pellet, and two stalks of elixirs were all expensive. None of them were cheaper than 5000 gold.

As the treasures were auctioned off one by one, the atmosphere of the auction gradually became more lively. Other than the still calm and composed Mage Expert, a few peak Spirit Condensation cultivators also joined in.

After another spiritual herb was auctioned off, the crowd once again turned their gazes towards Hai Zun Tian who was on stage. Only this time, the latter frowned slightly.

"Everyone, the next item up for auction is a bit special."

With his words, that female cultivator once again brought the jade tray up onto the stage.

After getting on the stage, Hai Zun Tian did not introduce the items that he had bought previously. Instead, he lifted up the red cloth and picked up the items on the plate.

Everyone cast their gazes over, wanting to see the true appearance of the "special object" that Hai Zun Tian spoke of.

This was a black rock that was about the size of a finger. It was oval in shape and did not emit any spiritual energy. Aside from the strange black color, it was completely unremarkable.

No one recognized what it was. Even the mages in the front row frowned and kept quiet.

"I won't hide it from everyone. Even the Wan An Merchant Guild doesn't know what this thing is."

Just as everyone in the hall was discussing amongst themselves, Hai Zun Tian suddenly spoke up with a wry smile, causing quite a big commotion.

"This black stone was obtained by the Chamber of Commerce by chance, and because it was unable to appraise what it is, I have even asked several Spiritual Masters to check it out, but without exception, no one recognized it."

Hai Zun Tian continued speaking. After pausing for a while, he changed the topic: "But, this old man said this item is special. Not only is it unrecognized, it is also because of its characteristics."

"One word, hard!"

"This is the toughest rock this old man has ever seen. Even if a real person were to use his full strength, he wouldn't be able to destroy it in the slightest!"

The entire audience was shocked!

Adept, you can turn the world upside down with a flip of your hand, you are the most pinnacle existence in the Profound Sky Continent, and yet you find it difficult to destroy this tiny black stone in front of you?!

"Perhaps this black stone is a treasure from outside this region. It might contain the Heavengazer Vault …" Alright, let's talk about this and start the auction. "

After everyone had recovered from the shock, Supreme Sea smiled and said, "The starting bid for the mystical blackstone is 200 points, 1000 gold coins. Each increment must be at least 500 gold coins."

Unlike before, the moment Hai Zun Tian spoke, the entire auction place fell into a strange silence.

The only characteristic of this black stone was its hardness, and its ability to block full-power attacks from Adepts. If it could be used to forge armor, it would definitely be a treasure that would cause even Adepts to be jealous of.

But it was too small!

The size of half a finger wasn't even qualified to be used as a Heart Protecting Talisman. Spending 200 points, what was the use of several thousand gold coins to bid for it? Could it be that what Hai Zun Tian said was true? Could it be that there was a divine treasure contained within?

Obviously, Hai Zun Tian had only casually said so and the rest of them did not take it seriously.

"Zhou brat, hurry up and bid. We must buy that thing!"

Just as Zhou Qing was about to close her eyes and rest, the Curse Spirit's voice suddenly rang out in her mind. Her tone was especially joyful, and even a little impatient!