However, he did not get to make his speech as he felt the change behind him on the screen. Someone made a bid of 10 000. Even he, as the one trying to sell, felt like it was an obvious scam. Yet, there was someone in here who was willing to put a bid... He smirked for a moment and decided to go on with the speech:

"These are eyes taken from a Thousand-pupils Collector. Many people might be unfamiliar with this spiritual beast as it is a very rare and old one. It is, in fact, considered extinct. Yet, the existence of those eyeballs proves that to be wrong!"

"Let me explain some more about the Thousand-pupils Collector. As its name implies, it loves to collect pupils. Especially those of humans for some reasons that are unknown to us. Maybe their shapes? In any case, it is a monster belonging to the elemental category of 'nightmares'..."

"Those human eyeballs were its prize after it finished hunting its preys. As he hunts, he forges a nightmare for the prey. The prey then experiences intense fear to the point that it seeps into their bodies and souls. It is said that the entire body becomes full of the element of fear"

"However, the Thousand-pupils Collector will eat everything but the eyeballs, making them the only natural treasures containing this element!"

"The elemental fear keeps on being fueled by the beast as it continues to stay alive and continues to hunt, enabling the production of constant elemental treasures..."

There had been no new bids but he believed there would be soon as he was reaching the climax of his story: "Now, then, my friends, I believe that I do not need to explain how to track down a beast? These eyeballs, dear friends, are a 'map' to that creature!"

As he screamed the last words, he expected the bids to go up. But they did not. It stayed at 10 000.

After a second, he heard someone snicker: "What if it belongs to someone already? No, forget that! If that extinct creature is still alive, then I don't even want to think of how high a cultivation it has reached!"

The host frowned as whoever that voice belonged to crashed his hopes. It was true that those eyeballs could help track the beast. And, as the owner, he knew where they came from. A random cultivator with no affiliations sold them to the house. They did quite the background check on him and it turned out that there was nothing suspicious. He had been a simple man who stumbled across discarded eyeballs while on the road.

The creature was alive! And ownerless!

That beast was obviously a gold mine worth many times more than ten thousand. So, why is the house selling those eyeballs? Because they believed themselves unable to catch the creature!

Spiritual beasts could go extinct like every kinds of lives. However, for one to enter that list, there had to be no sights of even one during a millennium. An association named the Grand Hunt Alliance, who had branches all over the world, managed that registry. They were very trustworthy. And that meant that if a spiritual beast managed to escape their radar for a thousand years, it was no longer a mere 'beast'... Anyone with a quarter of a brain would understand how dangerous such an existence was.

The auction house was a business. They would not sell something that would profit them more if they used it themselves. What's more, it was owned by cultivators. The real owners would not sell what would be useful to them.

In the end, the host gave up and it was sold to the only bidder and for the opening price of 10 000 gold coins.

...

As he traded most of his remaining money for the three eyeballs, Jin did not have a pained expression on his face. He had a gleeful one. If 'fear' was as powerful as that host said then it was a great deal.

Not being able to assimilate it? He was half-corruption. What was he fearing now?

As she saw him grab the eyeballs, Hymin retreated. She felt 'fear' instinctively simply from the sight of those globes. She hurried Jin to put them away. He placed them inside his spatial ring. He could not use them right now while in this place after all.

...

The auction continued but Jin no longer had any funds and most of what was in his previous price range was useless to him. Merely decorative and feng shui items. While they certainly were treasures, they were worthless in his eyes.

It ended in such a way without anything problematic happening. After waiting for a few moments in the darkness, a waiter brought Jin and Hymin back up and led them down many hallways until they reached a hidden room.

Within it was a spatial array. The waiter explained that it would send them in a random place within the city to protect their identities. It was very thoughtful but Jin did not like it. Spatial movement could be an easy way to trap him. He was not one to relax his guard at the end.

He gave Hymin her salary first since he was a man of his words. She asked him: "You're leaving the city, right?"

He did not answer. She asked further: "Can't you take me with you?"

Jin replied in a very straightforward manner: "No"

She gave him a saddened smile before moving alone in the array. She was sent somewhere random within the city.

The waiter was motioning for Jin to do the same. But Jin did not. Instead, he said: "I'd like to go enjoy the other party first if that is possible"

The waiter was slightly surprised but being a pro, he hid it well. He guided Jin back to the party above ground. Jin made use of the many drunk and dancing guests to change as he moved through the crowd.

As he left the dancing plaza, he was wearing a different robe, scarf, gloves, bandana... Even his wig color was different. He was impossible to recognize.

He went as far as to place his spatial ring within his robe’s inside pocket.

He exited from the front entrance.