Perhaps this is the moving bond between the male lead and the second male lead that could move heaven and earth…
Aside from the annual routine auction, the pre-competition auction was a tradition of Liusen Pavilion. In the words of the young pavilion master of Liusen Pavilion, only a fool would refuse easy money.
With so many cultivators gathered in one place, this was clearly a golden opportunity to auction off rare treasures and rake in a fortune!
“Yes, these are the items up for auction today. Please take a look, both of you.”
Li Changshuang wasn’t interested in the slightest, so one copy of the list was taken back, leaving only the one in Weisheng Zhen’s hands.
“Earth-grade Water Dragon’s Roar, premium mermaid silk, Earth-grade divination tortoise shell, premium mermaid pearls, Earth-grade octopus demon core.”
Weisheng Zhen skimmed through the list at lightning speed, marveling: “Did you lot poke a hole straight through the bottom of the sea? How come every single item in this auction is water-attributed?”
He quickly flipped to the last few pages: “Let me see what good stuff there is this time… Huh?”
The final pages of the booklet were generally reserved for treasures rarely seen in a lifetime. At an ordinary auction, having a single Heaven-grade magic treasure was already considered exceptional. Yet here, before he even reached the tenth item from the end, he spotted a Heaven-grade water-attributed treasure, a fragment of the Azure Wave Cauldron.
Heaven-grade magic treasures were extremely rare, and even those of the highest cultivation realms couldn’t forge them. They were typically obtained from secret realms or sent down by those gods above who had shattered the void.
Take the Sword Immortal Stone, for instance. It was sent down by the Sword Immortal himself the one who, ten thousand millennia ago, attained the Dao through the sword, founded the Sword Sect, and then ascended to the divine realm.
It might sound a bit shabby, but over those ten thousand millennia, quite a few promising talents had indeed gained enlightenment through the Sword Immortal Stone and successfully shattered the void to reach the divine realm.
As for what exactly lay in the divine realm,
Weisheng Zhen had never even written that far. Before his story could reach that point, his family had suffered a catastrophic upheaval, and he subsequently fell ill and died.
In his original novel’s setting, there was no divine realm at all. From the very beginning, he had planned to end the story when Li Changshuang shattered the void and became a god. Yet he had only written halfway through the novel when he ended up here not only filling in many of the logical plot holes in his novel, but even seeing certain events take different turns than before.
Fortunately, although his experience with the plot was no longer of much use, the basic settings hadn’t changed all that much.
So Weisheng Zhen knew very well that gathering all three fragments of the Azure Wave Cauldron would unleash half the power of the complete Heaven-grade treasure.
Coincidentally, the last time Weisheng Zhen visited a secret realm, although he hadn’t managed to obtain the Void Spirit, he had acquired one fragment of the Azure Wave Cauldron. As for the remaining piece, he also knew exactly where to find it.
After all, he had written it himself.
The incomplete Azure Wave Cauldron fragment wasn’t much use for fighting, but it was an excellent aid for cultivation. Li Changshuang possessed a mutated ice spiritual root, and a water-attributed treasure could temper the flow of his spiritual energy, helping him cultivate faster.
Weisheng Zhen asked, “How many people know about this list?”
“None. Liusen Pavilion’s confidentiality has always been impeccable. They only know that this time’s items are out of the ordinary, but not what they actually are.”
He then pointed at one entry: “I want this one.”
The steward nodded and quickly gave orders to replace the other auction items.
Weisheng Zhen’s shares were held with Liusen Pavilion, and over the decades, he had accumulated an incalculable number of spirit stones. He only needed to take whatever caught his eye, Liusen Pavilion would naturally deduct the cost from his dividends.
Having already purchased one auction item in advance, Weisheng Zhen naturally couldn’t continue bidding after all, Liusen Pavilion needed to make a profit, and if he took too many items, some would have to be withdrawn from auction, which would damage their reputation. So he simply closed the list and didn’t bother looking at the remaining nine auction items.
“The time is set for the first ke of the You hour. Heavenly Chamber No. 1 has been prepared for you two. You may come to view or participate in the auction at any time.”
It was roughly a bit past seven in the evening, still more than four hours away no need to rush at all.
The steward didn’t linger after saying this, and left once the meal had been laid out.
Cultivators had long since transcended the need for food, and most didn’t indulge in culinary pleasures. Weisheng Zhen hadn’t fully adapted to this, though he had experienced periods of seclusion where he went years without eating.
But if he truly wanted to eat, cultivators could convert all the food into spiritual energy essentially just tasting the flavors without ever feeling stuffed.
So even laying out a table of fine dishes far exceeding an ordinary person’s appetite wasn’t wasteful.
Weisheng Zhen turned the wall facing the street completely transparent. From the outside, nothing seemed unusual, but from inside, it was like a floor-to-ceiling window with no obstruction at all.
He actually quite enjoyed watching the lively, bustling atmosphere of the street market though of course, he had no desire to squeeze through the crowds himself.
Li Changshuang also picked up his chopsticks, a rare occurrence.
“That was merely a fragment of a Heaven-grade magic treasure…” Li Changshuang seemed somewhat puzzled, but stopped himself mid-sentence.
What Weisheng Zhen bought was his own business his comment had overstepped.
Weisheng Zhen didn’t notice anything amiss with the question, but was already thinking about the “little gift” he could give Li Changshuang later, and an unconscious smile crept onto his face: “Keep it a secret for now. You’ll find out soon enough.”
His eyes, bright as blazing flames, were even more striking and dazzling when he smiled.
“Why are you staring at my face?” Weisheng Zhen noticed Li Changshuang’s fixed gaze and reached up to touch his cheek, spreading his long, slender fingers. “There’s nothing on it,” he said, puzzled.
Only then did Li Changshuang snap back to attention, hastily averting his gaze.
Weisheng Zhen couldn’t help feeling that his friend, whom he hadn’t seen in ten years, was becoming stranger and stranger since their reunion.
First there was the hot spring incident where he’d grabbed Weisheng Zhen’s wrist and wouldn’t let go, and now he was staring at his profile.
Weisheng Zhen felt inexplicably pleased deep down.
Perhaps this was just the friendship between the male lead and the second male lead! Truly moving, wasn’t it!
They whiled away the time over dinner, chatting as they ate, until the lanterns began to glow and the auction was about to begin.
Auction houses were always lively affairs.
This one was located in a mustard-seed space styled after ancient architecture, where time flowed the same as the outside world, and the space could accommodate up to a hundred thousand cultivators. The reason it was set in a mustard-seed space was, of course, because the space held its own secrets.
It could seamlessly conceal everyone’s appearance and aura, and also prevent others from causing trouble here.
For instance, if someone fancied a treasure and tried to forcibly seize it that was absolutely impossible. The cultivator who controlled the mustard-seed space could easily detect fluctuations in spiritual power and intercept them at the first moment.
As for what fate befell those cultivators who won magic treasures after leaving the mustard-seed space, that was no longer Liusen Pavilion’s concern.
The strong prey on the weak that was the natural order of things since ancient times.
At this moment, all nine levels of the ornate circular building were completely full, surrounding a central object similar to a projection screen. When the auction began, this screen would project images and information of the items in all directions, ensuring that every cultivator could see them clearly.
As for Weisheng Zhen’s location in the Number One Heavenly Pavilion, it was situated in the void closest to the auction items. The Heavenly Pavilions and Earthly Pavilions were arranged according to numerical order, with larger numbers being farther from the auction items.
Of course, outsiders could not see this pavilion, and no matter how low a cultivator’s cultivation level was, once inside, aside from bidding, no sound or fluctuation would be detected. This allowed the distinguished guests in the private rooms to observe and receive auction prices conveniently while also avoiding the possibility of murder and robbery.
Weisheng Zhen swirled the Fengyu Tea in his hand and said, “This is a fine thing, are you really not planning to keep a bit more for yourself?”
Li Changshuang shook his head. “It’s merely a worldly possession.”
Weisheng Zhen raised an eyebrow. “What a pity. I’m someone who loves this above all else your stock will eventually be ‘eaten clean’ by me.”
“It’s fine, it was meant for you in the first place.”
Weisheng Zhen was slightly stunned, and was just about to say something more when the sound of drums, surging with spiritual power, resounded throughout the entire mustard-seed space, instantly making him forget what had just happened.
The auction had begun.
The items at the start of the auction were all quite ordinary things that were somewhat rare to come by but could still be purchased for a price. There were magical treasures, fragmentary formation scrolls, and the like, all items that would be helpful for the upcoming Rising Talents Competition.
Weisheng Zhen had somewhat forgotten what Li Changshuang had just said. He took another sip of Fengyu Tea and, taking advantage of the space’s concealment, finally spoke up: “It seems we’ve never really had a proper discussion about that jade talisman.”
“That jade talisman is very strange it’s not the Kunlun jade talisman carried by disciples who descend the mountain normally. Moreover, we also found the jade talisman that could prove his identity in Liu Xiao’s mustard-seed space.”
The treasure-hunting beast was with Li Changshuang, because at that time he had matched auras with the person behind the scenes and his identity had already been exposed. So afterward, he simply kept the treasure-hunting beast with himself.
But the jade talisman was left with Weisheng Zhen instead.
First, it was all about catching the enemy off guard the seemingly important jade talisman was not on the person with higher cultivation, but rather with him. The people behind the scenes might not expect this, thereby buying some time for escape and transfer of the talisman.
Second…
If one were to be honest with oneself, if the two were to be separated, the one most likely to survive would be Weisheng Zhen.
Although he had diligently cultivated over the years, he still loved eating, drinking, and having fun, and could make friends wherever he went.
When it came to survival, Li Changshuang truly couldn’t compare to Weisheng Zhen, who could summon help at any moment.
Only after Weisheng Zhen set up another barrier within this space did he take out the jade talisman and examine it closely.
“Although I don’t understand this script, it seems I’ve seen it somewhere before. Take a look for me.”
Weisheng Zhen handed the jade talisman to Li Changshuang, furrowing his brow in thought but unable to recall where. Then he heard Li Changshuang say, “Come to think of it… do you have any impression of the Demon Meteor War from ten thousand years ago?”
Weisheng Zhen nodded. “A required course during the Body Refining stage. Roughly eleven thousand years ago, the last sword cultivator from the Sword Sect to successfully ascend, the Long Rainbow Sword God, encountered the then Demon Lord Fuyan before breaking through the void. At that time, the immortal, demon, and monster races were not as sharply divided and hostile toward one another as they are now. The Long Rainbow Sword God invited him to construct a nightmare for himself, in order to break through the final inner demon barrier.”
“But Fuyan outwardly agreed, yet secretly schemed behind his back, attempting to trap the Long Rainbow Sword God in the demon realm to absorb his spiritual power, hoping to become a god in one fell swoop. When the senior cultivators of the Sword Sect sensed something amiss, they gathered numerous sects and cultivators to attack the demon realm. The great war lasted nearly a hundred years. In the end, it was the Long Rainbow Sword God who, at the critical moment, successfully shattered his inner demon, tore through the void, and entered the divine realm. Before leaving, he slew Fuyan with a single sword strike, then sealed the passage between this world and the demon realm.”
“However, three thousand years ago, parts of the seal began to loosen, and the leaked demonic energy easily attached itself to humans and monsters, causing them to fall into demonic corruption and slaughter all around. This is also why we cultivators must slay demons and vanquish monsters.”
“Does this jade talisman have something to do with this history?” Weisheng Zhen asked curiously.
This world had patched up many of the plot holes that existed when he originally wrote it, so it was common for things to happen that even the author himself did not know about.
Take the present moment, for instance Weisheng Zhen still had no idea what Li Changshuang was trying to get at by suddenly asking this.
This piece of history was a required course; every cultivator who had received orthodox training should know it. Yet Li Changshuang shook her head. “A few days ago, I accidentally wandered into the forbidden area of the Scripture Pavilion and learned that the one who sealed the passage between this world and the demon realm was not actually the Long Rainbow Sword God, but cultivators from Kunlun!”