Chapter 73
Translator: T_Fan
Lee Hyun leaned back in his chair.
Spread across the table were sheets of paper onto which he had copied Mei Sujun’s diagrams of the golden core.
That the demon markings had actually faded was an observed fact. The estimate that it would take roughly a thousand years to remove them completely had been reached after cross-checking Baoguang Temple’s records.
It might not take exactly a thousand years, but whether it was eight hundred or twelve hundred made little difference to Lee Hyun.
Then another thought suddenly occurred to him.
‘Wait. I’ll probably have to take around fifty Golden Core Condensing Pills….’
Lee Hyun looked down at the golden core drawn on the paper.
‘Don’t tell me it’ll take fifty thousand years?’
For a moment, he felt faint.
The thought of forming a golden core and then spending fifty thousand years doing nothing but grinding away at the demon markings made even Lee Hyun feel strange.
‘It probably isn’t that simple. I’ll have that much more magical power to refine them with as well….’
But for now, there was no way to know which possibility was correct.
Mei Sujun could hardly have conducted her research while accounting for the Primordial Body, which turned the entire body into something like a dantian.
Lee Hyun wrote a small note in one corner of the paper.
「Time required to refine demon markings during Whole-Body Core Formation.」
If he could solve that problem, Baoguang Temple’s Golden Core Condensing Pills would suit him extremely well.
Obtaining Tier-3 demon cores would not be easy, but securing fifty ordinary Golden Core Condensing Pills seemed even more daunting.
He recalled when Eldest Senior Brother Tao Wenqian had received his Golden Core Condensing Pills.
Even the Danxiao Sect, renowned for its alchemy, had only managed to produce four pills after twenty-seven years. Lee Hyun had also heard that the alchemy had been delayed because one of the main ingredients had been nearly impossible to obtain.
Even if Lee Hyun acquired the pill recipe, he would first have to figure out where to obtain those medicinal ingredients and how to cultivate them.
Even if the required medicine age of the main ingredient was only five hundred years, he would have to grow it for roughly fifteen hundred years in his current underground spirit field. He could cultivate in the meantime, of course, but he still did not know whether he could provide all the necessary growing conditions.
Baoguang Temple, on the other hand, was already producing Golden Core Condensing Pills steadily.
All that remained was to learn more about their production method and the nature of the demon markings.
‘Once my entire body reaches around mid Foundation Establishment, I’ll start looking into this in earnest. If I can enter Baoguang Temple by then….’
Lee Hyun thought for a moment and touched his hair.
‘Would I have to shave my head?’
He imagined himself sitting before a pill furnace in Buddhist robes.
It felt a little strange.
‘Well… I can worry about that when the time comes.’
Lee Hyun organized the papers, then placed Mei Sujun’s jade slip and a letter into a wooden box.
…
Two days later.
Lee Hyun left the Yanxia Sect.
During his stay, he had discussed alchemy with Xu Zheng’an and read some of the disciples’ records on preparing medicinal ingredients.
The Yanxia Sect possessed several formulas he had never seen in the Danxiao Sect. They were recipes that had been modified over several generations in an attempt to replace the ingredients in existing pill recipes with medicinal ingredients found in the Cangmang Forest.
Lee Hyun was given a copy of one of them.
In return, he taught them a technique for extracting toxic qi from poisonous herbs without drawing out their medicinal potency along with it, and left behind a pouch of spirit stones as a gift.
“Thanks to your preserving these records for so long, I’ve obtained something precious. Please accept this as a small token of my gratitude.”
Xu Zheng’an repeatedly declined before finally accepting the pouch.
He accompanied Lee Hyun all the way beyond the Mountain Gate, then clasped his hands together.
“I am glad to know that Senior Li Dongsan’s inheritance still lives on. If you ever pass nearby again, please visit us.”
“I will.”
***
Over the next month or so, Lee Hyun passed through several Two Heavens Society contact points in the Xu Kingdom and Xuan Kingdom.
He attended their gatherings not as Badger, the Society Head, but in the capacity of an Elder.
Reports followed on the condition of the vein seats, goods being traded, and rumors from various regions. What caught Lee Hyun’s attention was an auction being held in northern Kun Kingdom.
“An exceptional supreme-grade magic tool is appearing?”
“Yes. The auction is being held by Jiubao Pavilion in Huichuan Market. We’ve heard that the Sinking Moon Sword will be among the items offered this time.”
“The Sinking Moon Sword?”
A member wearing a white weasel mask held out a thin booklet.
The cover bore the title 《Nanming Hundred Artifacts Register》.
It was a book compiled by merchant groups and appraisers of the Nanming Sea, selecting one hundred renowned magic tools from throughout the territory of the Nanming Twelve-Sect Alliance and recording their histories and capabilities.
Magic treasures were not included.
Cultivators differed in their opinions about the rankings of the magic tools listed within, but no one disputed that anything worthy of inclusion was a rare masterpiece.
Just how many Foundation Establishment cultivators did the Nanming Twelve-Sect Alliance have now?
Its territory stretched across countless archipelagos and small continents beyond the Nanming Sea, as well as the Lan Kingdom, Cang Kingdom, Qianyang Kingdom, and Kun Kingdom. There had to be tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators at the very least.
And among those tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators, how many had no magic tool at all? If anything, most probably owned two or more.
For something to rank among the hundred most renowned magic tools across all of them, even if the list was ultimately nothing more than a ranking game among Foundation Establishment cultivators, there could be no doubt that its quality was extraordinary.
The member opened the booklet to one page.
「8th Place, Sinking Moon Sword」
Lee Hyun looked over the illustration and read the description beneath it.
The blade was long and straight. Fine lines extending all the way to its tip overlapped like faint ripples, though it was difficult to make out what was distinctive about them from the illustration alone.
One passage in the description caught his eye.
「Possesses a resilient sword body and can retract its sword light, concealing it deeply.」
“When is the auction?”
“Midway through next month. However, whether everything written in the book is true….”
“I can see for myself.”
***
Northern Kun Kingdom, Huichuan Market.
Tall stone bridges spanned the place where two rivers converged.
Ships laden with goods brought up from the south were moored along the riverbanks, while flying boats descended one after another onto docks carved into the mountainside.
Foundation Establishment cultivators were a common sight in the streets.
There was an old man wearing several spirit-beast pouches with their openings tied shut by red cord, a man carrying a long, narrow coffin on his back, and even a female cultivator from whose sleeves came the chirping of insects.
There were rogue cultivators dressed plainly as well, but among those heading toward the larger halls, many had concealed their faces.
Lee Hyun also wore a gray robe and a dark mask.
He had arrived at Huichuan Market three days earlier, entrusted four spirit plants to Jiubao Pavilion’s appraisal office, and received an explanation of the auction.
Jiubao Pavilion had offered to buy them outright on the spot, but Lee Hyun wanted them put up for auction.
He wanted to see for himself what kinds of people needed his spirit plants, and how badly.
…
The auction hall stood in a spacious building at the center of the cultivator market.
Eight bronze-colored pillars stood before the entrance. The eyes of the beasts coiling around them glowed red, while Foundation Establishment cultivators beneath them checked invitation tokens and entrance fees.
When Lee Hyun presented one mid-grade spirit stone and his consignment spirit tablet, the steward inspected the tablet and handed him a small numbered bidding token.
“Section D, No. 57. The proceeds from your consigned items can be settled together with the cost of anything you purchase.”
A female Qi Refining cultivator in a blue skirt soon approached.
“Senior, this way, please.”
She led Lee Hyun into a broad chamber.
The seats were arranged in tiers around a high platform in the center. A small table and tea had been set at every seat, while thin curtains of restrictions hung on both sides to prevent divine sense from intruding freely.
On the second floor were lavish private rooms concealed behind thick blinds and formation screens. They were occupied by direct-line members of major sects and people from influential cultivation clans. Those without any special background, like Lee Hyun, naturally gathered on the first floor.
As the sound of chains scraping across the floor came from one of the private rooms, the female cultivator guiding him slowed for a moment, but soon continued walking as though nothing had happened.
“Inject spiritual power into the numbered bidding token and your bid will appear above the platform. You may also call out your bid directly or transmit it through the token.”
“Understood.”
Lee Hyun sat down.
When the man seated ahead and to his right adjusted his sleeve, something resembling a tiny human face briefly appeared on the inside of his wrist before vanishing again.
To the left, a helmeted cultivator and a white-haired old man stared at one another.
An icy tension hung between them.
But when a Jiubao Pavilion steward walking past turned his head toward them, both men looked away as though by prior agreement.
…
A short while later.
The lamps above the platform brightened.
A middle-aged cultivator with a neatly trimmed beard stepped onto the platform and gave a light fist-and-palm salute in all directions. The man possessed the aura of Foundation Establishment Great Perfection.
“Thank you, fellow Daoists, for traveling so far to join us. I am a steward of Jiubao Pavilion and will be presiding over today’s auction.”
The murmuring gradually subsided.
“All items have been appraised by our pavilion. Unless otherwise stated, any residual ownership imprints and tracking measures have also been removed. If you have questions, ask before placing the winning bid. We cannot accept returns simply because you decide you dislike your purchase afterward.”
Several cultivators chuckled quietly.
“All bids will be denominated in mid-grade spirit stones.”
The steward gestured behind him.
“Now, let us begin with the first item.”
Two attendants came up carrying a silver tray.
On it lay two long pieces of bone and six black jade bottles.
The steward picked up one of the bones and snapped it in two.
Crack.
The dry sound echoed through the hall.
He dripped a drop of black liquid from one of the jade bottles onto each broken surface.
The liquid stretched into sticky threads, linking the two surfaces. When he pressed the bone pieces together and channeled spiritual power through them, the black strands seeped inside.
A short while later, the steward grasped both ends of the repaired bone and slowly bent it before letting go. The bone, which had curved like a bow, straightened again.
“Supple Bone Glue. It is refined from the secretions of the Half-Jointed Bone Creature, which lives in the deep trenches of the Nanming Sea. Its advantage is that it fills cracks in spirit materials without making the joint excessively rigid.”
Several cultivators in the front rows straightened in their seats.
Lee Hyun also studied the bone carefully.
‘Could I use that to repair Bonefuzz…?’
A cultivator asked,
“How much more durable is it than ordinary bone glue?”
“When tested on the same spirit material, it withstood more than three times as much repeated bending. Detailed test records will be included. Six bottles as one lot. Starting bid, thirty.”
“Forty.”
“Forty-eight.”
The bids immediately began climbing.
An old man with a braided beard called sixty, and a female cultivator wearing bone rings on every finger called seventy-two.
Lee Hyun lost interest as he watched the price rise. It would be far cheaper to hunt a Tier-2 demon beast himself, refine its bones, and replace the entire damaged section.
“Eighty.”
“Eighty-eight.”
“Ninety-six.”
A brief silence followed.
The steward tapped a small jade gavel.
Tap.
“Sold to the fellow Daoist in Section D, No. 132.”
…
The next item was a round crystal case.
It was half-filled with red liquid, within which two eyeballs moved slowly.
“Twinborn Blood Eyes. These were refined while still alive from the eyes of a pair of Blood-Eyed Fish born together.”
When the steward removed one eyeball from the case, an attendant received it and carried it behind the hall.
The steward placed the remaining eyeball on his palm. Fine blood vessels crawled between his fingers, and the pupil contracted sharply once.
“The attendant in the rear courtyard has just flipped over a plaque. It has a blue background with a white crane painted on it.”
A short while later, the attendant returned holding a blue plaque bearing the image of a white crane.
“Place one eye wherever you wish, and you can see that location through the other. On open ground, we have tested them at up to thirty li (about 11.8 km). The range decreases when rock or metallic strata lie between them.”
A voice came from behind the blinds on the second floor.
“Can they be implanted into a human body?”
“Anywhere with blood circulation.”
The steward continued without batting an eye.
“However, if you leave one implanted in someone else’s body for too long, you may one day find that its owner has changed. The essential formula for rearing and controlling them will also be included.”
The bidding proceeded quickly.
Two masked cultivators took turns raising the price, until one of the private rooms on the second floor finally bid one hundred eighty and won the item.
…
The mood changed slightly when the third item appeared.
Resting on the silver tray was a piece of wood less than one chi (about 33 cm) long. Its exterior was charred black, but a faint yellow glow seeped from the cut surface.
When the steward placed a few wood shavings into a small incense burner, smoke rose from it.
“This is heartwood from Mind-Calming Wood that formed part of the Dharma Assembly Hall of a Baoguang Temple subsidiary residence for three hundred forty years. It came from a beam removed when the residence was expanded, and only the section most deeply infused with incense-offering qi was selected.”
A cultivator wearing a red headscarf snorted.
“You’re selling those bald monks’ wood in a place like this?”
The steward looked at him and smiled.
“Resentful spirits do not care where something came from. You may burn it, or carve it into small tablets and carry them with you. It is particularly useful when bonding a soul banner or clearing the lingering consciousness from a corpse puppet. As you can see from its thickness, there is enough to make four tablets and still have some left over for incense.”
“One hundred.”
“One hundred twenty.”
The cultivator in the red headscarf, who had scoffed moments earlier, immediately raised his hand.
“One hundred fifty!”
In the end, the piece of wood went to another cultivator for two hundred sixty.
…
Several more items followed.
A Black Jade Flying Blade capable of holding and firing three different types of poisonous liquid.
A shell that, when submerged in water, emitted mist carrying its owner’s breath and body heat.
And a coffin divided into nine compartments.
When the lid opened, cold corpse qi spilled across the floor.
Models of corpse puppets had been placed inside, and the nature of the yin qi could apparently be regulated separately in each compartment.
“Have you been forced to carry your painstakingly raised corpse puppets separately because their corpse poisons are incompatible? With this, you can place them all in the same coffin. The restrictions are divided so that even if poison leaks from one compartment, it will not spread to the others.”
Three cultivators carrying coffins on their backs leaned forward almost simultaneously.
…
A short while later.
Two attendants placed a broad jade casket on the platform.
When the lid opened, layers of ivory-colored petals were revealed.
The steward raised his voice slightly.
“Next is one of the more precious spirit plants brought in today. A Bone-Rot Flower mother plant with a medicine age of approximately six hundred ninety years!”
The atmosphere in the audience changed in an instant.
Even the soil around the Bone-Rot Flower’s roots had been preserved intact. A faint bone-white spirit light flowed from its thick roots, while poisonous pollen gathered within the stamens glittered like tiny crystals.
The steward loosened the restriction along the edge of the jade casket slightly.
Whoosh–
As a thin cloud of ivory poisonous pollen rose, several cultivators in the front row immediately activated their body-protecting spirit light.
The steward closed the restriction again.
“Its medicine age is sufficient for use as the main ingredient in Tier-3 Bone-Forging Powder. The medicinal potency of its petals and stamens is rich, and the growth points on its roots remain completely intact.”
Divine sense descended from one private room on the second floor.
Several other strands of divine sense also swept over the jade casket.
“Steward!”
An old cultivator near the back craned his neck in disbelief and shouted.
“Not even one fine root is broken, and the soil is intact! This wasn’t harvested and stored. It looks as though it was dug straight out of a spirit field this very morning!”
“Your eye is keen.”
The steward smiled.
“Some of you may wish to use it as a medicinal ingredient, but those who possess spirit fields should pay attention to the fact that this is a mother plant. Opportunities to obtain a Tier-3 poisonous herb mother plant in such vigorous condition are exceedingly rare.”
Murmurs erupted throughout the hall.
“They’re putting a living mother plant nearly seven hundred years old up for sale?”
“Did someone raid a newly discovered secret realm or something?”
“No, something like that must have a great sect behind it!”
Lee Hyun suppressed a dry laugh.
“Starting bid, five hundred. Please increase each bid by at least twenty.”
“Five hundred twenty.”
“Five hundred sixty.”
The initially cautious bidding soon accelerated.
Once it passed six hundred, only four bidders remained.
The female cultivator wearing bone rings, an old man in a silver mask, and two private rooms on the second floor.
“Seven hundred.”
“Seven hundred forty.”
“Eight hundred.”
The female cultivator pressed her lips together.
The old man in the silver mask inspected the roots inside the jade casket once more before speaking.
“Eight hundred fifty.”
A reply immediately came from the second floor.
“Nine hundred.”
The old man remained silent for some time.
The steward looked around the seats.
“Nine hundred. Opportunities to obtain a Tier-3 Bone-Rot Flower mother plant that can be replanted and cultivated are not common in this region.”
No one bid higher.
The jade gavel descended.
Tap.
“Sold to the fellow Daoist in Section A, No. 3.”
…
The Purple Poison Orchid came next.
Fine silver lines covered the surface of its purple bulb like a net.
The steward slowly turned the jade tray.
“This one has also exceeded six hundred ninety years of medicine age. If you intend to refine Purple Venom Extract, look at the condition of the bulb before the leaves. The inside is neither soft nor hollow.”
Cultivators wearing green gloves showed particular interest in the Purple Poison Orchid.
It sold for eight hundred.
Competition over the Yin Soul Grass was fiercer.
As its ink-black leaves slowly unfurled inside the jade casket, divine sense extended from several parts of the audience almost simultaneously.
As though he had been waiting for that, the steward said,
“You have surely sensed its medicinal potency yourselves. The greatest difficulty in continuing to cultivate Yin Soul Grass of this age is preventing the yin qi within its leaf veins from becoming turbid. As you can see, the flow is exceptionally even.”
Lee Hyun was a little surprised.
‘That was a problem?’
There had never been any particular trouble in the tunnel.
He had simply endured the poisonous pollen, watered the plants, and let the fuzzbees devour the spirit insects.
The Yin Soul Grass sold for one thousand mid-grade spirit stones.
When the Earth Vein Flower appeared last, fewer people showed interest.
Instead, those who did bid persistently asked how much of the roots had been preserved.
“The main root hasn’t been severed anywhere?”
“No. It has been coiled inside.”
When an attendant opened the lower section of the jade casket, several layers of slender roots were revealed, wound together.
The steward carefully unfolded them all the way to the tips.
“An Earth Vein Flower this old can be used even in a high-grade spirit field. However, as you are transplanting roots that have already settled into one place, I recommend preparing the qi of the new soil beforehand.”
Two cultivators in red robes competed to the end, and the Earth Vein Flower sold for two hundred.
‘Even that goes for two hundred.’
Lee Hyun had no intention of selling Earth Vein Flowers in large quantities, but he had brought one along because he was curious about their value.
The four spirit plants had sold for a combined total of two thousand nine hundred mid-grade spirit stones.
Even after deducting the commission, it was a fortune greater than the entire wealth of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivator.
An ordinary rogue cultivator could risk his life for an entire lifetime and still never lay hands on this many spirit stones, yet Lee Hyun had earned them from just four plants dug out of a corner of his spirit field.
Only then did Lee Hyun relax and lean comfortably back in his chair.
‘I have plenty of funds now.’
…
More than two shichen (about four hours) after the auction began.
All the attendants withdrew from the platform, and the steward personally carried out a long sword case.
The low murmurs from the audience faded.
The case was made of black wood. Instead of decorations, several layers of seals covered its surface, and the clasp gave off a dull silver gleam.
The steward removed the seals one by one.
Click.
The lid opened.
A longsword lay upon black silk inside.
The blade was a little over four chi (about 1.3 m) long.
It was neither excessively broad nor narrow, tapering straight and sharp toward the tip. Patterns like ripples holding moonlight overlapped faintly across its surface.
It was unmistakably a silver-gray sword, yet when one’s gaze shifted slightly, one side of the blade seemed to sink into darkness. Looking again, that section appeared perfectly normal.
Lee Hyun narrowed his eyes.
The steward lifted the sword.
“I imagine many of you have been waiting for this.”
He slowly turned the blade.
“Eighth place in the Nanming Hundred Artifacts Register. The Sinking Moon Sword.”
Quiet exclamations rose throughout the audience.
The steward waited a moment, as though enjoying their reaction.
“This magic tool is famous for having collided head-on with the magic treasure of an early Golden Core cultivator and emerged completely intact. The appraisal record from that incident, along with records from two subsequent inspections of the sword body, will be included.”
The steward held the sword horizontally for all to see.
Lamplight flowed in a long line across the blade.
“One of its primary materials is Supreme Yin Cold Iron. It is a precious spirit material of which only one jin can be obtained by refining five thousand jin (about 3,000 kg) of Profound Nether Iron Ore. In addition, finely ground Moon Shadow Stone powder was used while quenching it ninety-nine times.”
The faint ripple patterns along the blade brightened slightly.
“The amount of spiritual power it can handle is exceptionally high, enough that even a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator can use it. Those of you who have experienced the sword body or restrictions giving out first while condensing and refining powerful sword qi will understand the value of this sword.”
The steward infused the sword with spiritual power.
Hummm–
Clear light filled the blade.
A moment later, the steward formed a different hand seal, and the light along the blade gradually faded. Even the outline perceived through divine sense became indistinct.
“Moon Shadow Stone disrupts the energy perceived by divine sense. The Light-Retracting Restriction engraved into the blade complements it exquisitely, allowing the sword to deceive both the eyes and divine sense.”
An attendant activated the formation plate on the platform, causing small flames to appear around the steward.
Mist scattered between the flames, and thin beams of light passed back and forth in several directions.
None were powerful, but each emitted a different fluctuation of spiritual power.
The steward moved the sword among them.
Lee Hyun followed the first few trajectories, then raised an eyebrow slightly.
‘Interesting.’
The steward withdrew the sword qi.
“It also contains Tier-2 Thick Earth Refined Metal. Thanks to this, not only is the sword body exceptionally sturdy, it is also highly capable of recovering from damage. Scratches and minor cracks can be repaired easily as long as you can handle basic fire control. What use is acquiring a masterpiece of a magic tool if you’re too afraid of damaging it to use it properly?”
The steward left the Sinking Moon Sword floating above its case.
“The consignor succeeded in Core Formation and is now preparing a life-bound magic treasure. As they intend to raise funds for that purpose, they will not accept trades for other items.”
He looked around the hall.
“Starting bid, six hundred mid-grade spirit stones. Please increase each bid by at least twenty.”
The numbered bidding tokens lit up before he had even finished speaking.
“Six hundred forty.”
“Seven hundred.”
“Seven hundred eighty.”
“Eight hundred forty!”
Lee Hyun did not enter the bidding immediately.
Even after the price exceeded eight hundred, six people were still bidding.
He wondered if there were really so many people who used swords, but some among them did not look particularly skilled in swordsmanship.
One did not have to be a sword cultivator to want a good magic tool.
Lee Hyun channeled spiritual power into his numbered bidding token.
“One thousand fifty.”
A voice came from the second floor.
“One thousand one hundred fifty.”
The sword-bearing cultivator in the front row hesitated, then lowered his hand.
No further bid came from the other private room.
Lee Hyun spoke.
“One thousand three hundred.”
A brief silence followed.
A blind on the second floor trembled slightly.
“One thousand four hundred.”
“One thousand five hundred.”
The steward waited with the jade gavel in hand.
The Sinking Moon Sword floated above its case, shedding an elegant glow.
A moment later, the blind of one private room on the second floor was roughly swept aside, revealing a man dressed in an enchanted robe patterned with blue scales.
With one hand resting on the railing, he looked down at Lee Hyun, who sat in a corner of the first floor. His narrow chin was raised arrogantly, and displeasure filled his long, slanted eyes.
“Fellow Daoist from Section D, No. 57.”
Lee Hyun looked up.
The man was at Foundation Establishment Great Perfection. Two blue rings adorned his fingers.
“I am Wei Zongyue of the Fuhai Sect. This sword is something my Master, Perfected Xuanzhao, has had his eye on for quite some time.” [TL Note: The exact Hanja for 현조진인 has not been revealed yet. Depending on the characters used, 진인 could also be translated as “Daoist Master”, “Perfected” or “Perfected One”, so the title may be adjusted if later chapters clarify it.]
Gasps spread through the hall.
“The Fuhai Sect?”
“Perfected Xuanzhao? Isn’t he that famous Golden Core Elder?”
“Then that’s Wei Zongyue, his true-inheritance disciple….”
Hearing the murmurs around him, one corner of Wei Zongyue’s mouth curled upward. He looked at Lee Hyun, sitting among the common seats with his face concealed, as though he were an insignificant gnat.
“How dare you covet something the Fuhai Sect has set its sights on? If you know your place and withdraw now, I will overlook the discourtesy of hiding your face and butting in.”
The surrounding cultivators shook their heads as they looked at Lee Hyun, some with pity and others with ridicule.
Lee Hyun looked away from the man at the railing and lightly tapped his numbered bidding token.
“One thousand six hundred.”
The hall fell as silent as though cold water had been poured over it.
Wei Zongyue’s smile froze.
The Jiubao Pavilion steward cleared his throat awkwardly, then immediately acknowledged the bid.
“Section D, No. 57 bids one thousand six hundred.”
A vein bulged on Wei Zongyue’s forehead. He was sitting in a private room on the second floor and had even invoked his Master’s name, yet some nameless rogue cultivator from the first floor had rebuffed him to his face?
“Seeing as even Perfected Xuanzhao’s name means nothing to you, I suppose you aren’t a fellow practitioner from Nanming.”
Lee Hyun did not answer.
“Could you be a spy sent by one of the northern sects to investigate our affairs? Otherwise, how could anyone dare humiliate the Fuhai Sect like this on Kun Kingdom soil!”
Several cultivators snorted at Wei Zongyue’s words.
It was hardly unusual for cultivators from the Xuan Kingdom to frequent markets in Kun Kingdom, and Jiubao Pavilion had never forbidden cultivators from orthodox path sects from entering.
Still, no one stepped forward to intervene. Watching people quarrel over an expensive sword was rather entertaining.
Just as Wei Zongyue released killing intent as though he might make a move at any moment, Lee Hyun remained leaning against his chair and raised his right hand. A pale white energy rose from the back of it.
Hummm–
A chilling fluctuation of spiritual power slammed into the surroundings.
“Urgh?!”
The cultivator seated directly beside him retreated together with his chair. Even the man nearby who had been radiating cold killing intent moments earlier turned pale and instinctively activated his body-protecting spirit light.
It was Profound Yin White Bone True Qi, terrifyingly pure and no weaker than the true qi of a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivator.
“Does that answer your question?”
Lee Hyun’s voice was calm, but fear had entered the eyes of the cultivators around him.
“Profound Yin White Bone True Qi?”
“He’s from the Yin Bird Sect!”
“His true qi is condensed to that degree… Is he from Haigu Island’s direct lineage?”
The demonic fiends of the Yin Bird Sect’s Haigu Island were notorious even within the Nanming Twelve-Sect Alliance for their madness.
Wei Zongyue stared at Lee Hyun for a while longer, his jaw tight.
The steward on the platform lightly tapped his jade gavel.
Tap.
“Our pavilion does not inquire into anyone’s origins. Will you continue bidding?”
Wei Zongyue slowly sat down.
“One thousand six hundred fifty.”
Lee Hyun answered immediately.
“One thousand seven hundred.”
Wei Zongyue’s face turned mottled red and blue with humiliation.
“One thousand seven hundred fifty.”
“One thousand eight hundred.”
There was not the slightest wavering in Lee Hyun’s voice.
This time, the silence stretched on.
After waiting long enough, the steward spoke.
“One thousand eight hundred.”
No one raised the price.
“Any further bids?”
Wei Zongyue gripped his armrest so hard it seemed ready to break, but eventually withdrew his hand.
The jade gavel descended.
Tap.
“The Sinking Moon Sword is sold to the fellow Daoist in Section D, No. 57.”
***
After the auction ended.
Lee Hyun was shown into a separate small room.
The sword case rested on the table.
The Foundation Establishment steward from Jiubao Pavilion opened the settlement ledger and went over each amount one by one.
After confirming the items, Lee Hyun received his spirit stones.
Despite buying such an expensive sword, he now had more mid-grade spirit stones left than he had possessed before coming to the auction.
He took the Sinking Moon Sword in his hand.
He greatly liked the way it settled naturally into his grip.
As he slowly infused it with spiritual power, the restrictions within the blade responded one after another. He had not even bonded with it yet, but there was no obstruction in the flow.
Lee Hyun placed the sword case, scabbard, and sword into his storage pouch.
…
He remained in Huichuan Market for several more days.
A Tier-3 grand formation covered the cultivator market, so he could not slip out underground, and there were still not many cultivators leaving through the main gate.
He rented a workshop, engraved his ownership imprint into the Sinking Moon Sword, and examined the accompanying essential formula for its operation.
Mastering the Light-Retracting Restriction would require practice, but he already had no trouble wielding the sword with his existing sword techniques.
…
On the morning of the fourth day.
Once a larger number of cultivators began leaving the market, Lee Hyun mingled among them and headed north.
For a while, he followed a road frequently used by merchant groups. After crossing a river, he shifted direction slightly and followed a low mountain range.
Then faint presences began moving behind him.
Those presences had been following him from a distance, keeping apart from one another. Once Lee Hyun was sufficiently far from the cultivator market, they gradually closed in.
Lee Hyun surveyed his surroundings with divine sense.
Two more were moving along the ridge ahead.
He descended onto a rocky slope sparsely covered with trees.
A short while later, a streak of blue light landed atop a boulder opposite him.
It was Wei Zongyue.
Two Foundation Establishment cultivators descended behind him. Another remained farther away, blocking Lee Hyun’s retreat.
Wei Zongyue looked around once.
“I didn’t expect to meet a cultivator from Haigu Island in a place like this.”
Lee Hyun silently looked at him.
“As far as I know, your people have no foothold in northern Kun Kingdom. You’ve come quite a long way.”
The blue rings on Wei Zongyue’s fingers glowed.
The cultivators spread out to either side also drew their respective magic tools.
Wei Zongyue spoke.
“Did you think I’d be frightened just because you’re from the Yin Bird Sect’s Haigu Island? You’re nothing more than someone who learned a few paltry tricks.”
“If you’re not afraid, why did you bring so many people?”
“I brought mourners so you wouldn’t be lonely on your final journey.”
He stepped down from the boulder and rapidly closed the distance between himself and Lee Hyun.
“You let me get this close without even taking out your puppet. It seems you don’t have much real combat experience.”
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