When Liang Yan arrived at the agreed meeting place, Chen Chong and Xu Kun were already waiting. Only the red-clothed woman, Tang Yan, had yet to come. Chen Chong gave Liang Yan a faint smile and said, “Apologies, perhaps Fellow Daoist Tang has been delayed by something important. Let’s wait a little longer.”
Liang Yan returned the courtesy. “No matter, I’m in no rush anyway.” With that, he stood off to the side with the other two, waiting silently.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a thick fragrance of a young maiden wafted over, followed by a red-clothed woman drifting gracefully in.
“Sorry to keep everyone waiting. Something suddenly came up and delayed me. Tang Yan offers her apologies to all of you.”
Liang Yan looked toward her and saw that today she wore a tight red full-length robe, her face seemingly carefully made up. She was naturally quite clever and lovely to begin with; now, aside from a young girl’s youthful rawness, there was even a faint hint of a young wife’s mature allure. The two temperaments combined made even Liang Yan stare, transfixed.
Whether it was his imagination or not, as she spoke, the corners of her mouth carried a smile, and her gaze from time to time flitted toward him. Had someone not known them, they’d think the two were exchanging looks of secret affection.
At this, Chen Chong gave a cough and said, “Fellow Daoist Tang is too courteous. We had no urgent matters anyway. Going to the auction now, time is still more than ample. To be traveling in the company of a fairy, how could we begrudge waiting such a short while? Don’t you all agree?”
As he said this last line, Chen Chong looked meaningfully, whether intentionally or not, at Liang Yan, leaving Liang Yan to laugh awkwardly and say, “The fairy over-worries. We are companions; how could we mind a moment’s delay.”
“That’s good then!” Tang Yan patted her chest somewhat exaggeratedly, then threw a playful smile toward Liang Yan. “I was afraid that, having just met, I’d already ruined my image in Young Master Liang’s heart.”
“Haha, Fellow Daoist Liang is broad-minded; Fairy Tang over-worries. Since we are all here, shall we set off now?” Chen Chong asked. Naturally, no one had any objection, and they all headed out of town.
The four traveled together for about an hour. The mountain path grew steep, and the summit became faintly visible. Chen Chong stopped, left the main trail, and headed deeper into the forest. The others followed closely. After walking for perhaps the time it takes an incense stick to burn, they saw from afar a massive cave in the mountain, with faint lights flickering inside. Drawing closer, they noticed quite a few cultivators already entering and leaving the cave entrance. It looked as though the auction was about to begin.
Chen Chong pointed to a tall, strapping youth at the cave entrance and said excitedly, “That’s my cousin, an outer disciple of Tan Mountain Sect, Chen Hu!” As he spoke, he led the group quickly forward. Approaching the tall youth, he called out, “Brother, it’s me, Chen Chong!”
The youth called Chen Hu glanced at him expressionlessly, frowned slightly, and said, “Why are you here? Instead of cultivating properly, you’ve come to wander again. Your cultivation has already stagnated.”
Chen Chong quickly said ingratiatingly, “Didn’t I see that you, brother, have advanced to an outer disciple of Tan Mountain Sect? I came specially to offer my congratulations, and see if you could give me a bit of guidance on the side.”
Chen Hu nodded, rather pleased. Then he looked behind Chen Chong and asked, “And these are…?”
“These are a few rogue cultivator friends I’ve gotten to know. I brought them along to broaden their horizons.” As he spoke, Chen Chong unobtrusively made a hand gesture toward Chen Hu.
Chen Hu seemed to catch his meaning. Smiling, he nodded, “Since they’re your friends, this small matter is no trouble at all. You can go in. Here are your bidding plaques; each of you take one. During the auction, if you see something you fancy, use the plaque to call out your bid.”
After expressing their thanks, each took a wooden plaque. Liang Yan also stepped forward to receive his. A glance showed three characters written on it: “Three-Seven-Seven.” Then he followed the others into the cave.
Inside the cave, it was a whole different world. The cavern was shockingly large. The walls were inlaid with crystal stones of some unknown material, so that even in the deep night they shone with a brilliance like broad daylight. In the very back of the cave, a temporary platform had been set up with planks, and a large table placed on it, clearly meant for the auction.
In the open space in the middle, over a hundred meditation mats, large and small, had been placed. By now, nearly all were occupied; only scattered seats remained empty. Liang Yan lifted his gaze and took in the cultivation levels of everyone present, one by one registering in his mind. Most were at the fifth or sixth layer of Qi Refining; a very few had reached the eighth or ninth layer. As he was observing, Liang Yan suddenly noticed three recessed grottoes in the cavern walls—they didn’t seem natural but rather man-made. Bamboo blinds covered the front of the grottoes, concealing what was inside.
“This auction is hosted by Yi Xing Pavilion. Although they temporarily recruit disciples from nearby sects to assist, they also send Foundation Establishment seniors from within the pavilion to oversee things, to prevent anyone from causing trouble. Inside those three grottoes in the cave wall are the three Foundation Establishment seniors sent to supervise this time.”
As if reading the puzzlement in Liang Yan’s eyes, the red-clothed woman Tang Yan softly explained at his side. Liang Yan’s face reddened slightly, and he nodded gratefully to her.
“We arrived too late, there aren’t many seats left. It looks like we’ll have to split up and sit separately,” Chen Chong sighed.
“That’s all we can do. Let’s each find our own seat then.” The stocky youth Xu Kun headed off first. After him, Chen Chong also departed on his own. Tang Yan gave Liang Yan a polite salute and said with a smile, “This little woman wishes Brother Liang great gains ahead of time.” After that, she too walked toward a meditation mat.
Only Liang Yan remained. He found a secluded corner and took his seat.
After about the time it takes a cup of tea, with no one else entering the cave, a figure suddenly flew out from one of the wall grottoes and landed on the wooden platform. It was a scholar dressed in a Confucian robe, holding a folding fan. He swept a faint glance over the crowd and spoke:
“I am Lin Fei, unworthily occupying the post of outer court elder of Yi Xing Pavilion, responsible for overseeing this auction. Everyone here has honored us with your presence, which gives face to Yi Xing Pavilion. I hope you will all gain something from this event. However, should anyone attempt to cause trouble here—hmph! Lin will certainly not stand by and do nothing!”
These words were spoken with extreme politeness, but his tone was cold and piercing. Especially the final sentence, accompanied by the pressure of his Foundation Establishment stage spreading across the room, sent a chill through the Qi Refining cultivators present. Liang Yan had no doubt that if anyone made trouble here, this scholar would not hesitate to strike and kill them.
Seeing that his point had been made, the scholar nodded to a red-nosed elder below the platform, then withdrew back into the wall grotto.
The old man then jumped onto the platform, cleared his throat, and addressed the crowd, “Welcome, everyone, to this auction. This time is a little special—we have a few finale treasures that will be auctioned at the very beginning. We hope everyone returns satisfied. Well, enough talk, let’s bring up our first auction item.”
As he spoke, two comely women below carried a tray up, upon which rested a redwood box.
“This first auction item is today’s top priority. It is a talisman crafted by a senior of the Daoist sect. It can be used by those at the fifth layer of Qi Refining and above, able to unleash a full-power strike equivalent to the early Foundation Establishment stage, but it can only be used three times.”
At these words, the crowd buzzed. A strike that could release the power of early Foundation Establishment—though only three times—meant, for these Qi Refining cultivators, three extra chances to save their lives. Such a treasure was truly rare. Many young masters from prominent clans in the crowd were already quietly rubbing their hands, regarding the talisman as already in their pocket.
Liang Yan merely gave it a bland look before shifting his gaze away. His cultivation was still insufficient; he didn’t even have the capital to activate the talisman, so he paid it no mind. He had come to the auction simply to see if there were any pills that could boost his cultivation.
Sure enough, the talisman was bid up to an astronomical price and was eventually taken by a middle-aged man in black for nine hundred spirit stones. Seeing the first item sell so well, the old man beamed with delight and, still all smiles, began introducing the second treasure.
Unfortunately, these items were all talismans or spirit tools, and invariably of such high grade they exceeded Liang Yan’s budget, so he didn’t bid on any of them.
Five items were auctioned off one after another, all sold at sky-high prices. Though the red-nosed elder remained outwardly composed, inwardly he was already overjoyed. For each of these auction pieces sold, they collected a commission of twenty percent or more.
Then it was time for the sixth auction item to go on stage. The old man lifted the red cloth covering it, revealing a pale yellow wooden fish. The design was ancient and simple; faint spiritual light shimmered around it—clearly no ordinary object.
The red-nosed elder paused, then announced loudly, “This sixth auction item is a supreme treasure of the Buddhist sect. It is of great age; who crafted it can no longer be verified today. But the level of this spirit tool is, beyond doubt, very high. Moreover, when placed beside you during seated meditation, it can calm the mind, settle the spirit, and assist cultivation, increasing cultivation speed by about ten percent. However, the effect varies from person to person. The exact result depends on each person’s innate aptitude. The starting bid is fifty spirit stones; everyone may begin bidding now.”
The crowd below looked at one another, no one responding for a moment—a stark contrast to the heated bidding of the previous items. After a long while, someone tentatively asked, “Does this wooden fish have any power to attack or trap enemies? Or does it possess any kind of defensive ability?”
The red-nosed elder rubbed his nose and laughed somewhat awkwardly. “It has none of those effects. But we cultivators value our own cultivation above all. This treasure can assist in cultivation, which also makes it something not easily come by.”
At these words, the crowd immediately burst into chatter. Many cultivators secretly shook their heads. The previous items were all treasures that could be used in battle against others, once obtained they directly boosted one’s own strength. Looking at this wooden fish instead—though it appeared to be of extremely high grade, it had absolutely no combat use, offering only the effect of boosting cultivation speed by around ten percent. Truly, a useless thing. The crowd weren’t fools; no matter how brilliantly the old man talked, no one was stepping forward to play the sucker.
The red-nosed elder, still unwilling to give up, cast his eyes around, hoping to find a buyer whose heart would be moved.
He had obtained this wooden fish by chance long ago when exploring a hidden realm. Originally thinking it was some treasure, after studying it for ages he discovered that aside from calming the mind and settling the spirit, it had no other function. That was why he used connections to slip it into this auction privately, hoping to recoup some of his losses.
By now, the crowd below had grown impatient. Seeing that no one was lifting a plaque, some even began to hurry him along. The scene descended into chaos for a moment.
The red-nosed elder sighed inwardly and said slowly, “In that case, let’s first switch to the next—”
A voice suddenly rang out from the hall.
“Fifty spirit stones, I’ll take it!”