Immortal Soaring Blade - Book 3, Chapter 102

Among Jian Wuxian’s three brothers, Jian Wuxian was the most humble. His senior brother, Jian Wuxie, was stronger, while his junior brother, Jian Wuxuan, had better talent. However, in the end, Jian Wuxian became the Head Teacher because he was cautious.

One’s personality could be seen from their cultivation. Someone with a hot temper would practice a sword art that reflected that, while a cautious person would move slow and steady. Xian Wuxian’s cultivation had improved step by step until he reached the Dao Origin Realm. His cultivation never made big leaps, but he also never stagnated.

Jian Wuxian had already told Zhao Jiuge his biggest wish for the seven holy land exchange. He didn’t care about the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect disciple being like dragons, he just wanted them to safely survive the Battle Competition and gain experience. One could see that Jian Wuxian only had the sect in his mind.

Zhao Jiuge and his teacher were different. His goal was the whole world. He wanted a world where everyone was equal regardless of strength, a world where the strong wouldn’t just kill the weak as they wished. He didn’t want to lose his humility as his cultivation level increased.

Zhao Jiuge was in a bit of a daze and then he looked toward the big man. The big man and the shrewd man became very nervous, and the shifty man quickly came up like he was respectfully waiting for an order. When Zhao Jiuge saw this, he didn’t know if he should feel happy or sad. This was the unfairness of the world—the weak acted like they were inferior people. If a more powerful cultivator became unhappy, the weak would easily lose their lives. However, this was not something a mere Spirit Core Realm cultivator like him could change.

Zhao Jiuge wasted no time and directly asked, “Where is the auction house in Qing Cang City?”

The shrewd man and the shifty man were both shocked when they heard this. It wasn’t that they didn’t know, they just didn’t expect a Spirit Core Realm cultivator to do all of this just to ask this kind of question.

Seeing their indecisive expressions, Zhao Jiuge frowned slightly and then took out a few hundred spirit stones. He casually threw it at the shrewd man and impatiently said, “This should be enough for you to speak.”

Seeing the spirit stones, the shrewd man was startled and was then filled with joy. This many spirit stones was enough for him to cultivate for three months. He didn’t expect to get such a big harvest so easily. This was much better than refining treasures or fighting for someone else. Even refining a treasure would only earn this much. Zhao Jiuge didn’t care about this amount of spirit stones; he was very different from when he first entered the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect.

Seeing Zhao Jiuge become a little impatient, the shrewd man didn’t dare to delay. He quickly said, “Qing Cang City indeed does have an auction, and it’s pretty high quality. I’ll personally take you there. Most importantly, the Young Master is very lucky. The auction house opens once a month, and today just happens to be that day.”

The shrewd man considered Zhao Jiuge to be a young master, given his extraordinary strength and wealth. His tone was unknowingly filled with flattery.

Zhao Jiuge was very happy after hearing this. He didn’t expect to be able to catch the once-a-month auction, and he excitedly said, “Quickly take me there.”

The shrewd man had no reason to refuse and quickly commanded his third brother to lead the way. He had to stay here and manage the store. After all, he was the strongest here, and he was afraid of an accident with those three present. He had been through too much and was already prepared.

Zhao Jiuge didn’t care who led them. He was anxious and wanted to quickly arrive at the auction, so he rushed the shifty man to lead the way.

Soon, the group of four left the shop and exited the alley under the lead of the shifty-looking man. They went through various alleyways throughout the city.

Perhaps because he was excited from receiving 100 spirit stones, or perhaps because he felt a bit embarrassed, the shifty man continued to chat the whole time. He seemed to be showing off to Zhao Jiuge and told them a lot of other information.

For example, Qing Cang City was guarded by four families. The nearby sects didn’t care about what happened inside the city, they were only responsible for the safety of the surrounding area. If evil cultivators appeared, they would make a move, but otherwise they focus on their cultivation. The four families were the Bai family, the Li family, the Cheng family, and the Zhang family. However, Zhao Jiuge didn’t pay attention to the complicated relationships between the four families.

The only reason Zhao Jiuge cared about the four families was because they were involved with the auction house, which was operated by the four families together. This large city generated a massive amount of daily income, all of which was divided by the four families. Everyone else could only get the scraps they left behind. Setting up shop or even living here required a large amount of spirit stones.

The auction was able to become so successful because the four families worked together. There were countless good things at the auction, and it had grown to the point that it was now the best auction in the western region of the Huang Province. All the cultivators in the area came here to buy what they needed. Some of the things being sold even made the four families’ eyes turn red, but unfortunately, they didn’t have much of an advantage. If they wanted an item, they would have to obtain it through financial means during the auction, and they only knew about the items a bit earlier than others. Cultivators were charged a 10% fee for the items they sold, and everyone had to pay for a ticket to enter the auction.

It didn’t take long for everyone to arrive at a secret building. This alleyway was bordered by the backsides of other buildings, so there weren’t many people.

Shortly after they entered the alleyway, the shifty-looking man pointed at a building and said, “Young Lord, this is the auction house. Usually, it’s not open to the public unless there is an auction. The door might look ordinary, but the inside is very different. Generally, the auction only starts at night, but you can head in now.”

“This is the place? You’re not coming with us?”

Looking at the humble-looking place, Zhao Jiuge was a bit surprised, but he didn’t doubt the man’s words. He believed that this man didn’t have the courage to deceive them. However, this was obviously the back door of the building, and it had a curtain blocking the entry. Zhao Jiuge didn’t know what the rules were.

“Young Master, we aren’t qualified to enter this place. If we offend the four families here, we won’t be able to stay in this city anymore. Generally, only the rich and powerful are allowed in. I believe that with the Young Master’s status, they will allow you inside. After entering this humble door, you will find a reception inside,” the shifty-looking man explained, and there was a hint of helplessness in his eyes. He feared that Zhao Jiuge would become angry and force him to enter, which would make matters very difficult for him. Perhaps this was the sorrow of those on the bottom.

“Then you can leave first.” Zhao Jiuge casually waved his hand and didn’t even turn around. The shifty-looking man was very glad and instantly disappeared without a trace.

Zhao Jiuge and Pei Su Su looked at each other. After seeing Pei Su Su nod, Zhao Jiuge led the way and opened up the humble, black curtain.

The moment they entered, he saw seven or eight men in black at the late stage of the Foundation Realm. They were following a man at the early stage of the Spirit Core Realm. Their black clothes were embroidered with the same patterns, but Zhao Jiuge didn’t know which family they were from. However, just the entrance had such a powerful force.

Seeing the three of them enter, a man in black immediately walked up respectfully. He didn’t dare to be disrespectful just because they looked young. While they couldn’t feel any spirit force fluctuations from two people, they could feel the vague aura of a Spirit Core Realm cultivator from Zhao Jiuge. This told them that these were not people they could underestimate. Instead, he had a smile on his face as he asked, “Welcome, please show me your invitation.”

“Invitation? I don’t have one.”

When Zhao Jiuge heard this, he was shocked. He didn’t have an invitation, and that shifty-looking man earlier hadn’t said anything about an invitation.

“Young Master, it’s like this. Our auction house is not accessible to the average person. Generally, old customers have invitations. First-time visitors or nearby cultivators need to either show Nascent Soul Realm cultivation or 30,000 pieces of spirit stones.” The man in black didn’t become angry and was still very respectful. They were all smart people here; otherwise, they might accidentally offend someone they shouldn’t. What was shown on the surface was not always the truth—some powerful cultivators were very eccentric.

Hearing the two conditions, Zhao Jiuge couldn’t help but become a little angry. He could understand requiring 30,000 spirit stones, because it was to prevent any random person from getting into the auction. However, as for the Nascent Soul Realm cultivation requirement, he felt like this man was deliberately trying to stop him. He was stuck at the late stage of the Nascent Soul Realm!

“What if I must go in?”

Zhao Jiuge was still worried about the Chilling Fire Flower, so his tone became unhappy and on edge. He had the 30,000 spirit stones that he sntached from the Giant Sword Sect, but he had shared them with the disciples of the Water Moon Sect for the Seven-Color Flowing Light Grass, so now he didn’t have enough. However, since he was here, he had to go in no matter what.

Seeing Zhao Jiuge becoming angry, the man in black was put into an embarrassing situation. He was at the early stage of the Spirit Core Realm, and he could feel the powerful aura coming from Zhao Jiuge.

Just when he was debating if he should find the director of today’s auction, Old Li, a dragon-like voice echoed from the corner.