auction

Bai Roushuang was reluctant to leave the Taixu Realm and tried to enter two paintings. The three of them left until the auction began and went to the auction hall set up by the Feiying Gate in Fandu City.

This magnificent building shows the wealth of Feiying Gate.

After the three of them chose an inconspicuous place to sit down, they looked at the female cultivator on the stage. She was holding a magic weapon that looked like a bronze mirror in her hand, and she walked around the stage to show it to the people below.

"This magic weapon is called Mirror of History," a male cultivator with a pleasant voice on the stage introduced the magic weapon, "Drop a drop of blood on the mirror, and it will allow you to see a part of the past that you have forgotten."

His voice was amplified by some kind of magic sound transmission device, and even at such a long distance it was still clear as if someone was whispering in his ear.

Bai Roushuang didn't understand what she heard, and looked at her senior sister blankly: "What do you mean?"

Xu Shulou explained to her softly: "It means that this magic weapon has a miraculous effect on people with poor memory."

"..." Bai Roushuang lost her sense of novelty when her senior sister explained this to this magical weapon with such a high-end and majestic name.

There were very few bidders for this magic weapon. It seems that there are not many people in the cultivation world who have bad memories and want to reminisce about the past often. This "Mirror of History" was finally sold for two hundred high-quality spirit stones.

After this item was sold, a maid soon brought out another magical medicine in a jade bottle.

"After applying the orchid cream, her hair is smooth and shiny, and her black hair is slanted," the male cultivator said at the right time. "No matter for male or female cultivators, the importance of beautiful hair is self-evident. The bottle in front of you is the magical medicine of Tianxin Sect, the famous 'Misty Hair and Windy Bun'. Due to the rarity of the raw materials, the annual output is very small. There is only one bottle in our auction this time. However, this bottle alone can have a miraculous effect."

Xu Shulou took the initiative to explain to the junior sister: "It means that more hair will grow after applying it."

"...I understand this," Bai Roushuang was curious, "but are there also bald cultivators in the world of cultivation?"

"Those who were already bald before successfully building their foundation will naturally continue to be bald after building their foundation," Jiang Yan took over the conversation, "and many people have put a lot of effort and thought into building their foundation, and have lost a lot of hair in the process of cultivation, so there are quite a few such people."

"..." Bai Roushuang touched her hair with lingering fear. During the time when she was worried about whether she could build her foundation, her hair fell out quite fast. Fortunately, fortunately...

As expected, this elixir was extremely popular. As soon as the bidding started, there was a roar from the audience. The price of this bottle of "Misty Hair and Windy Hair" went from 100 spiritual stones to thousands of high-quality spiritual stones, and was finally bought by a male cultivator. Everyone craned their necks to stare, and when they saw a male cultivator wearing a felt hat come on stage to take the jade bottle, they all showed understanding.

A monk who had not been able to take the photo just now also said with relief: "Everyone has to wear a hat when going out. It seems that this brother's condition is very serious. I was hesitant about whether to increase the price just now. Now it seems better to let him take the photo."

“…”

The maid on the stage had turned around and brought out the next magic weapon, a wooden tray containing ten exquisite jade bottles.

The male cultivator also spoke, and asked with great emotion: "Have you ever had the trouble of not being able to wash your clothes when you were wandering outside? Have you ever had a fight with someone, but got covered in blood and couldn't clean it, and finally had to throw away your beloved robes?"

Bai Roushuang saw out of the corner of her eye that the senior sister beside her nodded.

"What a good thing," Xu Shulou asked his fellow apprentices attentively, "Do you want it?"

Jiang Yan shook her head normally, while Bai Roushuang shook her head in horror.

The male cultivator on the stage continued, "The spiritual medicine in front of you is called 'Huanchunyi'. Like the 'Wubin Fenghuan' just now, it is also produced by Tianxin Pavilion. Soak the dirty clothes in a basin of water, and just drop a drop of this medicine on it. Soak for a while, and the dust and blood will disappear. Take out the clothes and dry them with spiritual power, and they will be as good as new."

Bai Roushuang saw from the corner of her eye that her senior sister was ready to make a move.

"If you don't want to waste spiritual energy drying clothes, we also provide a batch of small clothes drying stoves. They are called stoves, but they are only driven by spiritual stones. There is no flame, so they are very safe. They can dry clothes in an instant and will never accidentally burn the clothes. Guests who bid for the 'Spring Washing Clothes' only need to add twenty more high-quality spiritual stones to own them," the male cultivator continued, "We have a little more of these 'Spring Washing Clothes', a total of ten bottles. One bottle can be used nearly a hundred times."

Xu Shulou decisively bid the price and finally bought a bottle of Huanchunyi for eighty high-grade spirit stones.

This thing is not expensive. It seems that most cultivators would rather spend their spirit stones on the most important things.

Bai Roushuang glanced at her senior sister and thought to herself, it seems that there aren't that many monks who often fight until they bleed all over. And they have to fight until their opponents bleed, otherwise they will be chopped and bleed, and their clothes will definitely be torn, so it's useless to wash them clean...

Her thoughts drifted away inadvertently.

Next the maid brought out a basin of water.

Bai Roushuang almost thought that they were going to demonstrate the use of 'Huanchunyi' on the spot, but the basin did not contain water, but a strange mirror-like thing.

"This magic weapon is called 'What's There to Fear'," the male cultivator on the stage briefly introduced, "It can allow people to see the scene of their own death in the future. The starting price is 2,000 high-quality spirit stones."

There was an uproar in the audience, and someone immediately started bidding, with the bids getting louder and louder.

Bai Roushuang asked in surprise: "Why is this thing so expensive?"

"Think about it, if you see yourself dying in a certain place, will you avoid that place from now on? If you see yourself dying at the hands of a certain person in the future, will you be careful to avoid that person and not provoke him?" Jiang Yan sighed, "This magic weapon can save a life for some people. But..."

"...It seems to be true," Bai Roushuang thought for a moment, "Should we rob it?"

Xu Shulou shook his head: "It's best not to touch this kind of thing."

"Why?" Bai Roushuang was puzzled.

Xu Shulou asked back: "If you see that you will die in a heavenly calamity in the future, will you be timid and stop practicing in the future?"

Bai Roushuang was stunned by the question.

Xu Shulou continued, "Even if we don't talk about the heavenly tribulation, if you see yourself die in a certain place, you will remember to avoid this place for the rest of your life. In this way, when you look at the mirror again, will the picture inside be different?"

"This... should be possible, right?"

"Then think of ways to avoid other ways of dying based on the changing images? Live your whole life cautiously and fearfully?" Xu Shulou looked at the stage with a distant gaze, "Maybe you can live longer, but what's the point of living like this? Things like this that can reveal the secrets of heaven are detrimental to one's Tao heart, so it's better to avoid them."

Bai Roushuang nodded, as if she understood something.

Jiang Yan also sneered: "What is this heart afraid of? Feiyingmen is good at naming, it would be more appropriate to call it 'This heart is afraid of everything'."

Bai Roushuang looked around again. Some people were rushing to bid, but many people were silent. It was obvious that they were not the only ones who understood this truth. However, some people, although they understood it, still couldn't help but want to peek into the secret.

She sighed softly.

Then the highlight of the day began. Martial arts, spiritual herbs, and magic weapons were presented one after another for people to choose from, making the people in the audience dazzled.

The maid on the stage held out another sword. It looked like a good sword, but the blade looked a little gray as if covered with dust. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that this was a sword whose owner had died. It would not shine again until a new sword holder appeared.

The moment he saw the sword, Xu Shulou was stunned and muttered three words: "Young maniac?"

Bai Roushuang was puzzled: "What do you mean by youth craziness?"

Xu Shulou was lost in thought, and Jiang Yan answered her in a muffled voice: "It is the natal sword of Senior Uncle Zhang Baihe. He lost it before he passed away. It seems that someone picked it up and sold it to the Flying Eagle Sect."

"..." Bai Roushuang lowered her head and began to search her purse.

Jiang Yan said softly: "Senior Sister, if you don't have enough spirit stones, just ask. It just so happens that I don't have anything I want to buy."

"Me too, me too!" Bai Roushuang echoed.

"Okay." Xu Shulou knew that this was not the time to be polite, so he nodded to his fellow disciples.

Since they had met by chance, she must take the sword back with her.

The audience began to bid. This kind of weapon that can be used as a life-saving magic weapon has always been more expensive than other magic weapons. Zhang Baihe was once an elder of the Lingxiao Sect, a major sect, so the magic weapon in his hand is naturally not an ordinary item.

Even though Xu Shulou had exchanged some spirit stones in advance for this auction, it was still not enough at this moment.

In the end, she spent eight thousand high-quality spirit stones, emptied out all her junior brothers and sisters, and also used a piece of spirit ore given by the leader of the Hehuan Sect and a Sun and Moon Rising Hairpin obtained from the ice cave in the Yuankong Secret Realm to finally get the sword in her hands.

The young man was held by someone other than his master, and the sword was shaking slightly, as if in resistance. Xu Shulou stroked the blade and whispered something to it, and it gradually calmed down.

Xu Shulou put the young man into the Qiankun bracelet, and sat side by side with Jiang Yan and Bai Roushuang, each of them with a cleaner pocket than his face.

Then, the beautiful vestments from Linglong Pavilion were put up for auction. Several skirts were displayed one by one. The hem of one skirt seemed to be burning with flames, the hem of one skirt seemed to be flowing with water waves, one skirt seemed to be fluttering in the wind, and one skirt seemed to be lingering like clouds...

Bai Roushuang couldn't help but drool.

Xu Shulou held her hand and promised: "When Senior Sister has spiritual stones in the future, I will definitely compensate you with one."

Bai Roushuang shook her head: "It's okay, Senior Sister, of course, Senior Uncle Zhang's natal sword is more important."

"Be good." Xu Shulou touched her head.

Fortunately, she built her foundation early and did not become bald yet, Bai Roushuang thought thankfully, otherwise she would not be so calm when being touched by her senior sister.

The following time was very difficult, and the three of them experienced the pain of being short of money. They finally waited until the auction was over. When they walked to the door, a servant boy handed them an invitation.

Xu Shulou picked it up and saw that it was a post for another auction held at night, but there was no Flying Eagle Sect's secret sign on it: "Could this be a secret auction?"

"The girl is indeed knowledgeable." The servant smiled and left.

After watching him leave, Bai Roushuang asked, "What is a dark field?"

"The auction that just ended is called the open auction," Xu Shulou explained. "As for the hidden auction, some items that are not convenient to sell in the open will be auctioned. Only regular customers or monks who are generous in the open auction will be invited. I have only heard of it, but have never seen it with my own eyes."

"He's very generous?" Jiang Yan smiled bitterly. "He probably doesn't know that the three of us combined can't even scrape together half a spirit stone."

"It's free to go and have a look," Xu Shulou waved the post in his hand, "Who wants to go?"

After all, it was a rare opportunity, and Jiang Yan and Bai Roushuang immediately expressed their desire to go.

So the three of them strolled around the free sights in Fandu City, and when it got dark, they set off to the dark venue as indicated in the post.

Someone at the door checked the invitations. After checking, a maid led the way for them. After they sat down, a servant boy brought them a few bowls of pomegranate drinks.

The white porcelain bowl was filled with a light red drink that seemed to be chilled and still exuded a cool breeze. At the bottom of the bowl lay some seeded pomegranate beads, which were white with a hint of red and as translucent as agate beads. They looked extremely tempting, but the three of them did not dare to take them.

"Do you want to collect spirit stones?" Jiang Yan asked pitifully.

Perhaps it was because he rarely saw such a stingy guest in a dark place. The waiter was stunned for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "Don't take the spirit stones. This is a gift for you."

The three of them then took the porcelain bowl.

I don’t know what was added in it, but when I took a sip, besides the sour and sweet taste, I felt that there was a faint spiritual energy in this drink.

"As expected of the Flying Eagle Sect," Jiang Yan praised, "It's really rich and powerful."

"It would be great if they could send some food." Bai Roushuang fantasized greedily.

Soon, the dark auction began. The stage decoration was much more explicit, and a new monk was in charge of the explanation. He was holding up a necklace made of red beans for everyone to see: "This item is called 'Red Beans for Lovesickness'. You should have heard of this name. It is the most suitable gift for lovers to give to each other. If one of them changes his or her heart, the necklace will tighten and strangle the one who changed his or her heart."

Wow! Bai Roushuang was dumbfounded. It was indeed a dark scene, and it was so passionate right from the start.

She originally wanted to say that this red bean necklace was exquisite and beautiful, suitable for both men and women, and looked good, but it turned out to be a murder weapon?

"Does anyone really dare to buy this thing?" she asked her seniors in a low voice.

"You are still young and don't know. I heard that red beans are the most nostalgic. They were all the rage a hundred years ago." Jiang Yan was also amazed. "Once this thing is activated, high-level cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage can still survive, but many low-level cultivators have been killed. Some of them bought it themselves, and some were bought by their Taoist partners. I heard that a couple was strangled to death by the necklace at the same time. Later, this thing was jointly banned by several major sects in the cultivation world. Now it is probably only sold here. I don't know what these people think. They even dare to wear such a thing around their necks!"

Bai Roushuang smacked her lips and said, "Mortals who have lived for decades don't dare to promise a lifetime, but cultivators are really brave."

Jiang Yan shrugged, saying that she couldn't understand it either: "I remember that ten years ago, a loving couple got into trouble. They lasted for ninety years, but eventually changed their hearts."

"When love is strong, people will always be together for life," Xu Shulou sighed, "and they both believe that they will never change their minds. But who can predict the future?"

The three of them fell silent, watching the "This Thing That Reflects My Nostalgia" being bought away by a female cultivator. She smiled sweetly as she took the red bean necklace.

The three of them couldn't help but guess her ending.

Next, several strange magic weapons were presented on the stage. Among them was a "substitute paper man" that could temporarily transfer the soul to a paper man. Bai Roushuang and Jiang Yan felt a little creepy when they heard it.

There is also a tiny spirit snake that can drill into the heart meridian of a cultivator. If it bites the heart meridian, it can make people happy both physically and mentally. If it bites twice in a row, it can make people sad. If it bites three times in a row, it can make people excited. If it bites four times in a row, it can make people calm and composed. If it bites five times in a row, well... it can poison people to death.

The male cultivator on the stage said that if a cultivator feels that life is too boring, he can use this spirit snake to change his mood.

Xu Shulou and the other two all looked confused.

Bai Roushuang murmured, "What is the use of this thing? Can it make people calm and composed? Can it be that when facing an enemy, if I get scared, I will let the spirit snake bite me four times, and then I can calm down and find a way to escape?"

Jiang Yan stroked his chin and said, "Maybe you need happiness more often, right?"

Xu Shulou was also a little confused, but when they saw that no one bid for this thing in the end, the three of them looked relieved.

The male cultivator on the stage looked a little embarrassed and began to liven up the atmosphere: "Next, it's time for our main event. We recently received a pair of demon cultivator sisters. They are extremely charming and lovely. We will bring them out for you gentlemen to see."

Xu Shulou frowned slightly. This business of privately buying and selling demon cultivators had actually reached Fandu City.

As soon as the male cultivator on the stage finished speaking, two female demon cultivators were pushed out from an iron cage. The iron cage was made in the shape of a bird cage, with a translucent red gauze draped over it and soft brocade spread inside. Two humanoid female demon cultivators were lying on the brocade, revealing their long legs and fragrant shoulders, looking very vivid.

"We finally got this pair of sisters. The one in white is called Bingji, and the one in red is called Yugu," the male cultivator introduced. "How are they? Do they appeal to you, the readers?"

"Wait..." Bai Roushuang rubbed her eyes and looked carefully, "It looks familiar. This is not what we saw in the secret realm..."

Jiang Yan also recognized it: "It's the little fox that Senior Sister threw out of the crocodile's belly!"

"Yes, yes, yes," Bai Roushuang recalled, "but I remember they were not sisters, just companions. Also, they didn't seem to be called anything like Ice Skin and Jade Bones. The pink one was very scheming, and her name was something like, Fenmo!"

Jiang Yan knew that the seller was just trying to create a gimmick by calling them sisters and even changed their names. He looked at Xu Shulou and said, "Senior Sister, what do you think?"

Xu Shulou was a little stunned. Ice-skin and jade-bones, ice-skin and jade-bones... In the storybook, Lu Beichen's two demon concubines were called this name.

It turned out to be them... It seemed that somehow, the characters in these novels had appeared around her in some way, but she was unable to notice it at the time.

The storybook mentioned that the two had been trafficked and changed hands several times before being rescued by Lu Beichen. It was Lu Beichen who treated them like human beings, which made them truly love him and even voluntarily offer to take essence from him.

Xu Shulou suddenly remembered that Bai Roushuang in the storybook had always been somewhat disgusted with these two foxes because they liked to act innocent in order to win favor.

For unknown reasons, the junior sister in real life doesn’t seem to like them very much, especially BLACKPINK.

Once again, reality and the story overlap in odd little details.

…

Seeing Xu Shulou in a trance, Bai Roushuang asked her carefully: "Senior sister, I guess you must want to save people, but we have no spirit stones anymore, what are you going to do?"

Xu Shulou suddenly asked a strange question: "Do you think they are willing?"

"Of course not," Jiang Yan thought for a moment, "Since they are willing to take the risk to go to the Yuankong Secret Realm to look for the transformed spiritual herbs, it is impossible that they are here just to sell themselves out."

Bai Roushuang also nodded in agreement: "Yes, if they wanted to sell it, they could have sold it a long time ago. If they met a generous buyer, he would naturally provide them with the spiritual herbs for transformation. Why bother to go to the secret realm to find it? If it weren't for the senior sister, the pink fox with low magic power would have been buried in the crocodile's belly long ago."

Xu Shulou sighed: "I think so too."

The two looked at her nervously.

Xu Shulou raised his hand and grasped the handle of the fan: "Since there are no more spirit stones, we can only rob them by force."

“…”

Bai Roushuang covered her face and almost burst into tears. Why were the days spent out with her senior sister always so fulfilling and exciting?