The next morning, Lin Mo arrived at the auction house of the Treasure Pavilion in White Emperor City.
Unlike the previous auction during the night raid, this auction held by the Treasure Pavilion was only open to invited members.
“Are you blind? My Master is the Peak Master of Azure Bamboo Peak of the Azure Spirit Sect, and also a member of your Treasure Pavilion, why aren’t we allowed in?” Shen Ke’er was furious at being blocked by the Treasure Pavilion’s staff.
“I’ve already made it clear, you need to present the special invitation token from the Treasure Pavilion!” the Treasure Pavilion guard said expressionlessly, completely unconcerned about offending True Lord Yuehua and the Azure Spirit Sect.
The Treasure Pavilion had been established for thousands of years, and its foundation was far beyond what these second-grade immortal sects could compare to. Each city’s Treasure Pavilion was managed by at least one Division Soul Stage pavilion master. In a prosperous city like White Emperor City, the pavilion master of the Treasure Pavilion had even reached the Soul Transformation Stage, not to mention a Division Soul Stage and three Nascent Soul Stage stewards. The Old Ancestor who founded the Treasure Pavilion had a cultivation level that reached the terrifying Integration Stage.
Shen Ke’er didn’t know this, but True Lord Yuehua did.
“Ke’er, no fooling around!”
“Master, but I…” Shen Ke’er was anxious. If she couldn’t attend this Treasure Pavilion auction, how long would it take her to find the herbs to cure the poison in her body?
Shen Ke’er had also heard about Lin Mo from Yin Susu. Upon learning that her senior brother had sold those rare spirit herbs to exchange for spirit stones to stabilize his cultivation level, she didn’t blame him. Besides, her senior brother didn’t know she was poisoned, so she couldn’t say anything about Lin Mo selling those spirit herbs. Internally, she thought that her senior brother didn’t want to abandon her, but was simply temporarily unable to help her.
It was a pity that Shen Ke’er was still thinking too optimistically. Lin Mo was no longer the senior brother she remembered; he simply didn’t want to bother with her.
Lin Mo presented the invitation token he had received from Miss Xiao Zi.
“Young Master, please come in!” The guard’s expression instantly turned respectful. Those who could obtain an invitation token were truly distinguished guests.
He then remembered the three people – True Lord Yuehua and Shen Ke’er – who he had just denied entry, and they seemed to be accompanying Lin Mo. He hesitantly asked, “Young Master, these few…”
Lin Mo said indifferently, “They are my people. Let them in.”
After being allowed entry, True Lord Yuehua’s face under her veil turned slightly red. She never expected that as a Master, she would have to rely on her disciple to enter the Treasure Pavilion’s auction. Shen Ke’er was also surprised. She hadn’t expected her senior brother to possess an invitation token from the Treasure Pavilion. Just how many things about her senior brother was she still unaware of?
…
The Treasure Pavilion’s auction was far more grand and upscale than the one during the night raid. Take the venue itself, it wasn’t just luxurious; each seat had a magic array that dispelled fatigue and calmed the mind and spirit.
Soon, auction items were presented one after another. Prized parts of sixth-tier and above demonic beasts, fifth-grade and above pills, and high-grade spirit beast eggs. There were even spirit swords of immortal treasure quality. Naturally, the prices were outrageously high. With Lin Mo’s current assets, he couldn’t possibly make earth-shattering bids like he did at the previous auction. Lin Mo sighed, lamenting his poverty.
As the auction continued, Lin Mo finally found what he was looking for: the Starfire Vermillion Copper Furnace, capable of perfectly refining pills of sixth-grade and below. The auctioneer on stage announced the starting bid: “Fifty thousand spirit stones!”
“Fifty-five thousand.”
“Sixty-two thousand.”
“Seventy thousand.”
“One million.” The final bid came from a young master who seemed determined to win. Not many cultivators present needed a cauldron for alchemy. After all, alchemy required considerable talent and took a lot of time to learn. With that time, it was better to focus on improving one’s own cultivation level. If one’s cultivation level was high enough, they wouldn’t lack the spirit stones to buy pills. Of course, there were also many cultivators who loved wealth and often specialized in the Way of Alchemy while supplementing their cultivation. Cultivators who could refine sixth-grade pills couldn’t achieve this through effort and time alone; it required extremely high alchemy talent, and such individuals were very rare. Correspondingly, their cultivation levels would not be low, and with the aid of high-quality pills, they could often compensate for the time spent learning alchemy.
When the young master bid one million, no one else in the audience offered a bid. Seeing that he was on the verge of acquiring such a high-level cauldron, the young master thought his grandfather would be delighted to receive it. However, just as the auctioneer was about to announce the third bid, a voice of similar age called out, “One million two hundred thousand.”
Shen Ke’er was once again dumbfounded. Was her senior brother really that wealthy? True Lord Yuehua and Ye Kai, who had seen Lin Mo’s spirit stone pouch, were not as surprised.
Inside Ye Kai’s storage ring, a voice suddenly chuckled, “This senior brother of yours appears to be much wealthier than you.”
Ye Kai felt a great sense of unease and communicated, “Wanwan…”
The voice from within the ring continued, “Don’t be scared. I’m not leaving you. In my opinion, your senior brother doesn’t appeal to me ‘like you do.’ I am a demon, I can see through all your dirty thoughts.”
“It is precisely because of the ugliness within you that I draw the greatest energy to nourish myself. You are the one more suited for me, and the one more likely to become a demon.” Demons were like this; from the very beginning, what she coveted in Ye Kai was only his inner ugliness, his near-demonic jealousy, and his deceitful words. This was why she, at first, had stated that she was attracted to Ye Kai’s ‘demonic nature.’
In front of this woman, he could express himself freely without pretense. Ye Kai smiled inwardly, “Hearing Wanwan say this puts me at ease.”
At this moment, the young master looked at Lin Mo, who was about his age, and frowned, continuing to bid, “One million two hundred and fifty thousand.”
Lin Mo calmly continued to bid, “One million five hundred thousand.”
Others watched with curiosity as two extremely young gentlemen vied for a cauldron, especially since there weren’t many young sixth-grade alchemists around. Shen Ke’er curiously asked True Lord Yuehua, “Master, does Senior Brother also understand alchemy?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” True Lord Yuehua shook her head. Since she took Lin Mo as a disciple, she had spent most of her time in seclusion. How would she know what Lin Mo had learned in private? However, she didn’t quite believe Lin Mo could refine sixth-grade pills; she merely thought he would buy such a high-level cauldron to refine lower-grade pills.
One million five hundred thousand clearly exceeded the young master’s budget. He stood up and called out to Lin Mo, “Brother, I am from the Lin Family of Tianxing City. Are you truly going to snatch this cauldron from me?”
Upon hearing this, True Lord Yuehua and Shen Ke’er exchanged odd glances. Was this a case of internal conflict? After speaking, the young master gritted his teeth and bid again, “One million five hundred and fifty thousand!” Everyone present assumed Lin Mo would back down. True Lord Yuehua and Shen Ke’er also thought so. But who knew Lin Mo would continue to exclaim, “One million eight hundred thousand!” True Lord Yuehua was also stunned. It was rumored throughout Azure Bamboo Peak that her disciple was unapproachable. Now it seemed that even when her disciple turned cold, he wouldn’t spare his own kin!
“You little brat, you’ve got guts!” The young master glared fiercely at Lin Mo, memorizing his face, and then stalked out in anger.
With no one else bidding, Lin Mo successfully acquired the Starfire Vermillion Copper Furnace. The auction continued, and the next item was brought out. After hearing the Treasure Pavilion steward’s introduction, Shen Ke’er became completely excited.
…
