A curtain of black covered the night sky like ink flowing down. Drifting clouds uncovered a full moon, ordained with an innumerable number of bright stars stretched across an open canvas. The main lobby of the auction house, densely populated by crowds of people, led into a multitude of rooms, many serving different purposes. There were large indoor parlors where mortals and cultivators alike could participate in competition and gambling. Other parts of the auction house had serene restaurant seating and stone bedding where cultivators sat beside misty waterfalls, between vivacious gardens, or beside rivers teeming with all manner of life. A stairway in the center of the main lobby lead up to the second floor, each rising step contained an exponentially rising difficulty and soul crushing weight for any challengers willing to brave its steps.

Mulao Hu sat on a stone bench outside the auction house watching a stream of guests pass her by. She was surrounded by flowers and dense foliage in a well-preserved garden beneath the cobblestone steps leading up to the auction house doors. Her blue silk garb ebbed and flowed underneath the moon's silver glow like a ocean's current. Mulao Hu's lone figure beneath the moonlight gave passersby the impression she was a fairy-like beauty whom had just been stood up by her date. Her expression was dark, in contrast with her gentle appearance; her face twisted into a scowl.

'Where is he?' Thought Mulao Hu with arms crossed. 'That guy couldn't have died down there in there, right?'

No, Mulao Hu dispelled the notion entirely. An outer sect examinee should at least be able to scale a wall, if not climb down a couple hundred paces. Mulao Hu thought back to their first encounter. The look on Sean Wu's face had made it seem as if she were making him crawl down tens of thousands of meters into a crevice. Mulao Hu felt a mischievous smile come on her. That terrified expression, full of emotion at the mere thought of having to climb his way down just a couple dozen meters--Mulao Hu could not help but let out a laugh. She had come across someone rather interesting. It was quite the pity she did not catch his name.

"Look there, who is that young miss sitting in the flower grotto?" Two young men walking up a ridged slope noticed Mulao Hu's dissonant figure in the blanket of moonlight.

"That's... the winter solstice tigress of the ten families!" One of the two immediately recognized her. "Late-stage bone refining..." The second stared wide-eyed.

"Winter Solstice Tigress, is she called that because of her frosty demeanor, cold personality, and ice-based skills?"

"No, its because her grandfather took one look at her at birth and deemed her such. She actually grew up learning the fire arts and is quite sociable. I don't suggest you approach her however, I hear she has quite the sharp tongue. With your ugly face, you will surely be torn to shreds by her words."

"....."

下一章

On the second floor, Ming Xiwei and Luo Jinhua sat at a wine tavern overhead a wisteria tree. Beneath them, the moon's bright visage reflected over a still body of water, revealing a passing school of fish. The two women, as did every other guest in the tavern, paid no mind to this. That was because the wine tavern had been built on top of a lake, without any foundation or flooring. Those without the qualifications to enter this place would immediately fall into the waters and be swept away by the water's current upon entering. It was apparent that the guests in attendance, evidently, did not have simple backgrounds.

Clack, Clack. The sounds of tiles hitting a wooden surface could be heard, like rain droplets hitting an open windowsill amidst the spring's light shower. Proctor Ming and Peak Lord Jinhua were locked in a game of chess, staring fixatedly at the chess board between them.

"Am I interrupting-?" An unassuming old man dressed in white sat down beside Proctor and Peak Lord Jinhua.

Upon seeing this person, Ming Xiwei immediately got up from her seat and bowed. "Ming Xiwei pays respects to Azure Mountain Monarch."

"Old man, last time we met you were a continent away." Luo Jinhua leaned back in her seat with arms crossed and a teasing smile. "What brings you all the way here?"

"I heard the Medicinal Garden Hidden Realm had appeared in the last century, so I ran the way here." Azure Mountain Monarch replied. "One hundred years ago, the disciples of your Saint Devil walks a Thousand Paths Sect failed to clear the hidden realm, causing a 'pseudo-beast tide' of medicinal herbs escaping into the outside world. Even if you did manage to round up just about all of them, I am willing to bet there one or two plants in the Paragon-realm are still hiding out there in the wildlands."

"....The mandrake root!" Proctor Ming muttered. "That is correct." Dan Guqing nodded. "There are rumors that a pericelestial medicinal herb has surfaced. If I am not wrong, about a dozen of your inner disciples have gone out searching for it in the past three months. With the exception of its burrowing speed contesting a cultivator of the same realm, the peri-celestial mandrake is considered harmless. It is normally accompanied by a stone-wood parasite of the same cultivation realm, which makes up for its lack of battle prowess..." "....Except", Dan Guqing continued, "for the fact that with the advent of elder Mo Yechiang's net over the wildlands, no demonic beasts or roaming enemies above the level of qi condensation can appear outside the city gates in a 100 Million Li radius. That is to ensure your outer-sect examinees can complete acquire cultivation resources relative to their level. If a disciple manages to corner the herb, they will have a chance of running away from a lower-realm stone wood parasite unscathed." Luo Jinhua shook her head. "Old man, you are at the end of your lifespan. You should also know that only disciples or examinees are allowed to act in Saint Devil Sect territory. The rules cannot be changed, even for you." "On the contrary, I am betting on the future generation." Azure Mountain Monarch smiled. "This-!" Peak Lord Jinhua's eyes widened. Luo Jinhua understood, the Azure Mountain Monarch had come all the way here intending to buy the mandrake from whomever managed to catch it. But only outer sect examinees and sect disciples were allowed to actively explore the wildlands. Was this old man out of his goddamn mind? He was willing to travel one hundred years all the way here on the off chance a disciple had managed to get their hands on a pericelestial herb that can out-maneuver cultivators in the same realm!! "Old man, have you lost you gone insane from old age?!" "Yes." Luo Jinhua sighed, shaking her head. "Even a mandrake in the mortal-realm will be difficult, trapping one requires not only diligence, but also intellect and cunning." "Actually, I killed a stone wood parasite the other day. I happened to pass by the young miss of the Hu clan." Proctor Ming added. "That girl had been tracking down a mandrake for the past several nights and I feel she fits the requisites quite well. Perhaps she could be the one you are looking for." "Couldn't it also have been that young man you had brought back the other night? The one the Huang Zhi clan was looking for?" Luo Jinhua suggested as well. "Possible, but unlikely. I found him asleep by the cliff side." "But didn't you say he was some kind of pill-concocting genius?" "Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that he is also a retard." 下一章 Along the well-lit path leading up to the Bai Feng auction house, a constant stream of guests continually poured through the auction house doors like a great tide. Vagrant cultivators and visiting merchants stood shoulder to shoulder, perusing strange weapons and wailing medicinal herbs laid out across wooden tables and felt cloth. Sean Wu and Baixou Tiangu pushed through the crowd, arriving before the foot of a large, spiraling staircase in the center of the room. This stairway led to the second floor, where the guests with common background and martial artists with lesser cultivation realms were unable to proceed. "Naturally, we will be to go up to the second without being affected." Baixou Tiangu revealed a red inked slip of paper. "With my family's influence, I was able to procure an invitation--enough for one and a guest." [Hmm. That looks like the purple jade slip the Proctor handed me this morning.] Sean followed Baixou onto the stairway. As the two continued up the steps, the countless heads beneath them grew ever so tiny like a swarming mass of ants. "Is it difficult to acquire one of those invitations? I don't see anyone else going up with us." Sean commented, looking back. As he said so, Sean Wu caught sight of a bald man struggling to make his way up the fifth step with great difficulty. Soon thereafter, the man succumbed to the pressure and tumbled down the steps, disappearing into the dense crowd of people. "You need at least a certain cultivation base to make it up these steps, or an invitation. Hmph. Mere trash daring to step out line like a toad lusting after swan's meat not knowing his place." Baixou snorted. "Seems to me like being able to go up to the second floor is kind of a big deal. Wouldn't the guest spot be important as well? Why are you bring me along with you when you can sell the second pass for a high price?" Sean Wu asked. "You are correct, affinity alone will not warrant such an opportunity. You see, brother Wu, my arrogant arts have reached a bottleneck of sorts and with you here, I hope to gain some insights into breaking past this mold. But more importantly, I need you to drag my unconscious body out the room when I inevitably cause trouble during the auction and end up getting beat within an inch of my life." "......." ”I need you to drag out my unconscious body when I act up during the auction.” ”I heard you the first time.”