WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: WeTried Translations
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◈ Ophidian of the Immortal World ◈
Chapter 104: The Master of the Auction Gathering
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Jegyeong looked down over the auction hall from one of the few private rooms on the top floor of the six-story auction house.
Sea Abyss Island's auction house was not as impressive as the one on Stonewall Island, but it was still quite well built.
Its atmosphere was particularly distinctive.
It was not as bustling as Stonewall Island, but its quiet lent it an antique elegance.
Of course, that silence would not last long.
Once the auction began, a fierce war of Spirit Stones would break out.
“Yang Siham. You dare show your face here? Aren't you afraid this father of yours will teach you a lesson?”
“Jusak. You're still spouting nonsense, I see. Have you already forgotten the lesson you learned last time? Or is your ability to learn so poor that you failed to learn anything in the first place?”
Yangseo Lake was both small and vast.
To the countless Qi Refining cultivators of limited ability, the Cultivation World of Yangseo Lake likely seemed broad enough to encompass their entire world. But for Foundation Establishment cultivators, things were different.
The Cultivation World of Yangseo Lake was not small even to Foundation Establishment cultivators, but they could leave whenever they wished.
They rarely did. Wherever cultivators gathered, things were much the same.
Most cultivators moved to a new area in pursuit of a better cultivation environment. Yet what seemed good to one person seemed good to others as well, so competition only grew fiercer in better places.
This was especially true for Foundation Establishment cultivators, who required many resources and ranged over wide areas.
As the events unfolding in the auction hall showed, fierce competition easily forged ties, or rather, hostile ties.
What was more, those gathered here were not ordinary cultivators, but Calamity Cultivators who did not hesitate to shed blood.
“You've got nerve. Did you think Ghost Spider would protect you?”
“The opposite. I thought I might see you if I came here. Ha ha. Heaven truly hasn't abandoned me.”
Those who snarled openly at one another were preferable to the others.
The ones who stood in silence, concealing their killing intent behind cold gazes, seemed to lower the temperature of the hall by degrees.
The Qi Refining cultivators on the lower floors could barely even breathe beneath the murderous conflict between their seniors. They could only wait anxiously for the auction to begin.
Had a neat-looking middle-aged man in black not appeared on the stage at just the right moment, many would have been caught up in their seniors' battle of nerves and fainted from mental exhaustion.
“It seems everyone who was meant to come has arrived.”
Countless gazes swept over the middle-aged man the instant he stepped onto the stage.
‘Middle-stage Foundation Establishment.’
Some narrowed their eyes as they gauged his realm.
‘A Soul-Wiped Person?!’
Others were shocked to discover that even this middle-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was a living corpse whose divine soul had been erased.
They had expected to use this opportunity to see what the mysterious Ghost Spider looked like. Never in their dreams had they imagined that a middle-stage Foundation Establishment Soul-Wiped Person would appear instead.
“Jangho!”
“Jangho? Red Sun Monkey Jangho?”
Those who recognized the dim-eyed middle-aged cultivator each reacted in their own way.
Some stared wide-eyed in shock. Others sighed softly. Still others scanned their surroundings as though searching for someone.
“First, I would like to thank all the Fellow Daoists who have come such a long way to be here.”
The tension between the Foundation Establishment cultivators on the upper floors, along with the restless atmosphere it had created, settled at once.
* * *
Jegyeong had already known it, but Myeongha was an excellent speaker.
His ability to lift the heavy atmosphere while guiding the auction along naturally was no worse than that of any auctioneer Jegyeong had seen.
“One hundred and forty!”
“One hundred and forty-three!”
“Are you really going to take this to the end?”
“If you want the item, name a price! Why are you talking so much?”
Like any ordinary auction, the early and middle portions belonged to the Qi Refining cultivators.
An item that might catch the eye of a Foundation Establishment cultivator appeared now and then, but for the most part, Qi Refining cultivators drove the fierce competition.
“Fifteen!”
After a bidding war fierce enough to make them cough blood, a small bamboo-tube-shaped pinnacle-grade Spirit Artifact went to a fierce-looking middle-aged man.
‘A pinnacle-grade Spirit Artifact.’
Jegyeong, who had been passing the time by chewing reddish meat, fell into thought.
Fifteen lower-grade Spirit Stones.
In his view, that was far too expensive for a Spirit Artifact.
Then again, perhaps only a pinnacle-grade Spirit Artifact could command such a price.
After all, pinnacle-grade meant the highest quality attainable at a given realm. A pinnacle-grade Spirit Artifact was the finest Spirit Artifact a Qi Refining cultivator could use.
Since it was an offensive artifact, that ugly fellow would have few rivals in the Qi Refining Stage if he knew how to use it properly.
‘A Dharma Artifact would be useless to them anyway...’
Jegyeong thought it would be more worthwhile to buy Medicinal Pills with those Spirit Stones, but their circumstances differed from his.
For people who could not see even an inch ahead, it was better to focus on protecting themselves now than cultivate for results that might never come.
After all, cultivation was only possible while one remained alive.
“What do you think?”
“It is fascinating.”
Hyeon-gwi stood respectfully beside him.
Yet despite that posture, Hyeon-gwi's eyes missed none of the exciting sights unfolding below.
“I know they are not fools, but is that item truly worth so much?”
Hyeon-gwi knew that the Human Race lacked bodies as strong as those of the Demon Race and primarily fought with spells and various tools.
Still, understanding that in theory did not stop Hyeon-gwi from being stunned to see that tiny bamboo tube sell for fifteen lower-grade Spirit Stones.
Having served Jegyeong in many capacities, Hyeon-gwi had learned something of the value of Spirit Stones.
That was why Hyeon-gwi could not help widening their eyes at the auction unfolding below.
“To someone who needs it, it is. To someone who doesn't, it isn't.”
“I understand.”
Jegyeong glanced at Hyeon-gwi, whose eyes shone as though enlightenment had struck, and quietly curled the corner of his mouth.
Hyeon-gwi had always been intelligent, but lately, it felt as though Hyeon-gwi's Spiritual Intelligence had opened even further.
Jegyeong guessed it was a change brought on by Hyeon-gwi drawing closer to the Great Demon Realm.
‘The Great Demon Realm... I wonder what it will be like.’
He was not particularly worried.
Hyeon-gwi possessed a Bloodline. As long as Hyeon-gwi patiently absorbed the entire inheritance within that Bloodline, breaking through the Great Demon Gate would not be difficult.
Hyeon-gwi knew that as well, so breaking through the Great Demon Gate was practically a foregone conclusion.
What Jegyeong considered was not whether Hyeon-gwi could break through, but whether he should spend resources to help.
Even if it was a road Hyeon-gwi could travel alone, a slight push would allow Hyeon-gwi to reach the destination faster.
‘Well, there shouldn't be a problem.’
Jegyeong did not doubt Hyeon-gwi's loyalty.
Even if Hyeon-gwi developed other thoughts after becoming a Great Demon Beast, Jegyeong was confident that he could suppress Hyeon-gwi at once.
‘Even if I support Hyeon-gwi... I don't know how much faster it will be.’
The Demon Race cultivated far more slowly than the Human Race.
Without a Bloodline, breaking through was almost impossible. Even with one, cultivation speed varied wildly according to how outstanding that Bloodline was.
In Jegyeong's eyes, Hyeon-gwi's Bloodline did not seem particularly remarkable.
Hyeon-gwi possessed no special ability, and Hyeon-gwi's cultivation speed was quite slow by Jegyeong's standards.
That was despite Hyeon-gwi not being lazy at all.
Judging by Hyeon-gwi's cultivation speed so far, even assuming there would be no further bottlenecks before the Great Demon Gate, it would likely take at least twenty years to reach the Great Demon Realm.
Hyeon-gwi might be satisfied with that turtle-crawling pace, but Jegyeong was not.
He could only lament the lack of cultivation pills made for the Demon Race.
‘Should I feed Hyeon-gwi a suitable spiritual treasure?’
For his first Great Demon Beast subordinate, Jegyeong was willing to invest some of his precious Spirit Stones.
While Jegyeong passed the time lost in such thoughts, the auction continued smoothly.
“Thirty lower-grade Spirit Stones. Sold.”
Myeongha's voice, or rather the voice of the Soul-Wiped Person he controlled, was not loud.
It differed greatly from ordinary auctioneers, who raised their voices with exaggerated enthusiasm to stir the crowd.
Yet even with such an understated delivery, the attention of those in the hall did not diminish in the slightest.
That was partly due to the presence of the Soul-Wiped Person, but it was also due to the quality of the items that had appeared so far.
There had been no lull in this auction.
Every item presented so far had captured the cultivators' attention.
Those who did not need an item did not bid, but once someone named a price, they did not retreat easily.
‘Not bad.’
Myeongha regarded this auction as the starting point for spreading Sea Abyss Island's reputation in earnest, and had prepared for it with great care.
Securing auction goods was both the most basic and most important part of any auction. Quite a few of the items appearing now had passed through Myeongha's hands.
There were even several acquired by Jegyeong, mostly byproducts of Demon Beasts and demon fiends.
“One Crying Fish.”
Jegyeong leaned forward slightly as one of his auction items was brought out.
A sizable fish with a dog-like head flopped about and let out a strange cry like a baby's wail.
Its appearance was bizarre even for a Demon Beast, making the eyes of the Qi Refining cultivators and even the Foundation Establishment cultivators on the upper floors light up.
“According to the Compendium of All Demon Fiends, the flesh of a Crying Fish greatly helps strengthen a cultivator's will, its blood nourishes Qi and Blood, and its brain improves comprehension. They cannot reproduce naturally and are said to be born when a wandering dog soul enters a fish with suitable talent. Whether that part is true or not, this Water Demon is certainly rare. The starting price is one mid-grade Spirit Stone. Bidding may increase in increments of ten lower-grade Spirit Stones.”
The bidding began the moment Myeongha finished his explanation.
Some may have heard of the Crying Fish, while others had not, but the explanation alone was enough to set the cultivators' hearts ablaze.
According to him, every part of this medium-sized fish Demon Beast was a treasure.
After winning the bid, they could take the parts they needed and resell the rest. Urgent voices naturally erupted from all around the hall.
From the private room, Jegyeong and Hyeon-gwi watched the scene with satisfaction.
“Dragon Lord, the Human Race truly spends freely.”
Jegyeong nodded at Hyeon-gwi's words.
“Things with little value to us may be treasures to them.”
The Human Territories of Yangseo Lake were not small, but there were simply too many humans. It was no exaggeration to say their resources had already been stripped bare.
That was why they frequently invaded the territories of other races and swept away their resources, though even that had its limits.
After all, they could not breathe underwater.
“Three mid-grade Spirit Stones!”
Watching the bids climb higher and higher, Jegyeong unconsciously nodded several times.
It was not as though he had attended only one or two auctions, nor had he only ever listed one or two items.
Still, viewing an auction from the owner's position had a different flavor.
Footnotes:
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