I was at the back of the line when I saw that Fengmen Village had accepted the "Yanwang Tumor" (a metaphor for a disease or disease) that Wei Shengnan had consigned for auction, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Old Chen clearly held a very high position in Fengmen Village. After discussing the matter of the "King of Hell's Tumor," he left under the protection of his bodyguards.

Although the people of Fengmen Village couldn't tell the difference between the real and fake "King Yama's Tumor," they were quite skilled at appraising antiques.

Not long after Wei Shengnan left, I came to the table, placed the brocade box on the table, and opened it: "These are the things I sent for auction."

The old man who had previously invited Old Chen merely glanced coldly at the contents of the box: "What's the estimated price?"

When the old man asked me for an estimate, I was slightly puzzled, but I still told him the item's true value: "Nine million."

"No, we won't accept it."

The old man waved his hand: "Next."

Why won't you accept it?

I raised an eyebrow at the old man: "Even if you think there's something wrong with this thing, you should point it out, right?"

"The item itself is fine, but its value is too low."

The old man said impatiently, "This is an official auction. The starting price is fifty million. Your item doesn't even meet the minimum requirements to participate in the auction. If you really want to sell it, go find a stall outside and sell it yourself."

I was slightly taken aback when I heard this answer, and then left with the brocade box in my arms.

Since arriving in Fengmen Village, I have never attended an auction here, nor do I know the specific market prices.

I knew this place was extravagant, but I never imagined that the starting price for the auction would be 50 million yuan.

However, I bought these jade pots in order to sneak in and see how Wei Shengnan fared, so I don't really care if they don't accept my gifts.

As soon as I left the alley, Wang Qing came up to me anxiously: "How did it go? Did you get it done?"

"Don't worry, it's a success."

I nodded to Wang Qing and continued, "The auctions in Fengmen Village have a very high starting point, with the minimum price for each item being 50 million. So if we want to participate in the auction, we'll most likely have to undergo a verification process. Can you get a ticket?"

Wang Qing dismissed the issue of money: "Money is not a problem. I have 200 million yuan on hand, and the verification of funds will definitely pass. If you have any problems with your cash flow, I can help you."

His calm and unassuming answer surprised me quite a bit. Although I had also received the two hundred million from Jiang Tianyi, having so much money and being willing to spend it all felt completely different. I couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you tell me before that your sect was a reclusive sect? How come you have so much money?"

"I did say that my sect is a reclusive sect, but I also said that my sect has its own business, right?"

Wang Qing curled his lip and said, "Nowadays, most martial arts sects have legitimate businesses, and we are no exception. The biggest business under the Five Poisons Sect is the largest medical group in the country. It has opened TCM clinics and hospitals in almost all first- and second-tier cities across the country. The group ranks among the top ten private medical enterprises in the country in terms of scale."

Healthcare is an extremely profitable industry, especially private healthcare, which is a veritable goldmine. I couldn't help but ask, "Your hospital isn't one of those Putian-affiliated hospitals, is it?"

Wang Qing immediately retorted, "Of course not! We are a traditional Chinese medicine school with a history of thousands of years. How can we be compared to those charlatans!"

Seeing that Wang Qing was alright, I went to find an empty stall under the big banyan tree and placed the pair of jade pots I had bought on it.

At 1:30, the pair of jade pots were sold for 12 million. After deducting the transaction fee, I made a profit of several hundred thousand.

I stayed here to kill time, and after selling the items, I went to the auction house with Jiang Man.

Just as I guessed, the auction house here requires verification of funds, and the threshold for entry is at least 70 million in cash.

Due to the competition rules, only two people could enter the venue with one number, so Jiang Man and I left everyone else outside.

I thought that with such a high threshold for the auction in Fengmen Village, there would be very few participants.

It wasn't until I entered that I realized I had been looking at the sky from the bottom of a well.

At this moment, there were already over a hundred people seated in the auction hall, with at least fifty or sixty bidding teams.

It seems there's a reason why Fengmen Village is called the number one black market.

At the very least, there are quite a few rich people here.

Jiang Man, our number is 52, so we can only sit anywhere in the back. As for the first two rows, the tables have corresponding number plates written on them, which are obviously prepared for wealthy guests.

At 2:00 PM, the host walked onto the stage and introduced the items with a confident and poised manner: "Ladies and gentlemen, the Fengmen Village auction officially begins today. As you all know, Fengmen Village guarantees the authenticity of all auction items, so please feel free to purchase! Now, let's welcome our first item for today's auction: a mummified corpse from Egypt!"

As the host was speaking, a photo appeared on the large screen behind him. It was a mummy wrapped in bandages, which was relatively well preserved. The face of the corpse was also blurred, probably to prevent the guests from feeling uncomfortable.

The host stepped aside to move the photo aside and continued, "This mummy is from Egypt, unearthed from a small pyramid. Her exact identity is unknown, but we know she was female and lives over four thousand years ago."

Jiang Man glanced at the photo on the podium, her face showing disgust: "Fengmen Village is such a strange place, how come even corpses are being auctioned off! Don't you find it disgusting to buy this and display it at home?"

"How many people who can do antique business would be afraid of this kind of thing? The so-called way of heaven is nature, and we are all just a part of nature."

I didn't think much of it and laughed, "From the 14th to the 17th centuries, Europe experienced an intellectual and cultural movement known as the Renaissance. It first arose in Italian cities and then spread to other Western European countries, reaching its peak in the 16th century. During this period, Europe produced many great writers, painters, philosophers, and other great scholars."

It was also during this period that a pigment called 'mummy brown' began to become popular in Europe. It was highly regarded for its delicate and transparent color and was used to paint shadows, glazes and skin tones in oil paintings and watercolors.

This pigment was made by grinding up Egyptian mummified bodies, including human and feline mummies.

The popularity of this pigment lasted until 1960, mainly because paint companies nearly wiped out the world's mummies.

"I know that. Mummy brown is unique, but it's also a color that's prone to fading and cracking."

Jiang Man nodded: "My teacher talked about this when I was studying art abroad."

"Besides being used as a coating, mummies are also a rare medicinal material. The mummification process involves applying pitch resin, which usually involves removing organs, but it can also become a breeding ground for certain fungi and viruses."

I recalled a passage from the Judge's Records, which explained: "There is a folk remedy for preventing miscarriage, which can be used to treat habitual abortion. The key ingredient in this remedy is a dried corpse that is over a thousand years old."