Auction
In the novel, Mo Zuili remembers that the Xie siblings had quite a high level of dominance in the Demon Realm.
Although the demon race lacks the systematic management of the human and demon races, most areas are in a state of chaos, where the strong rule.
However, in the novel, the fact that the Xie siblings were able to escape from Shen Ling's clutches multiple times, and even tricked Shen Ling more than once, is enough to show that the two of them were of considerable status.
Moreover, after the plot deviates, the Xie siblings can join forces with other demons to carry out a major operation of absorbing the demon race's trials.
It doesn't seem like a situation where they have no base or influence at all.
Filled with doubts, Mo Zuili headed to the Soul-Severing Tower, which was located deep within the Demon Realm.
Mo Zuili felt that the pebbles beneath her feet had been soaked in demonic energy and turned black, crumbling and crumbling under her feet.
Mo Zuili stopped abruptly when the Soul-Severing Tower came into view.
The Tower of Souls is completely different from the surrounding filth shrouded in demonic energy.
The entire tower is made of white gold material, which gleams with a soft white light. Looking up, you can see that the panels have gold thread patterns, as if they were made of golden camphor wood.
The tower soared into the clouds. As a landmark building in the demon realm, it should have exuded a cold and gloomy aura. However, the surrounding demonic energy and numerous dark and eerie buildings made the platinum Soul-Severing Tower appear somewhat strangely sacred.
Mo Zuili recalled the subplot in the novel: the Soul-Severing Tower and Shen Ling's ghostly bloodline were quite related.
It is said that after the ancient Ghostly Vengeance lineage stole the Demon Ancestor's energy, they were hunted down by various races. They sealed a portion of the energy into the tower, which is why the Soul-Severing Tower has a natural bloodline suppression effect on the demon race.
Demons cannot enter the Soul-Severing Tower, but the monster race and humans can enter freely; however, most of them go in but never come out.
Mo Zuili currently only knows that when the Immortal Valley opens later, an entrance slot exclusively for the Demon Race will appear at the bottom of the tower.
However, the novel is not finished, and the author has not yet explained the hidden plot at the top of the tower, so Mo Zuili remains unaware of it.
However, it's obvious that the foreshadowing at the top of the tower is definitely a cheat code left for the male lead, and has nothing to do with the "dead female lead".
As Mo Zuili walked along, she looked at the demons around her with eyes like hungry wolves, scanning every passerby.
Especially since his disguise was so good, wearing a black robe that revealed nothing.
To reach the trading area near the Tower of Broken Souls, which is often referred to as the black market in novels, you need to go through one last narrow path.
As soon as Mo Zuili stepped into the path, she felt at least five pairs of eyes fixed on her back—some scrutinizing, some greedy, and some wary.
Mo Zuili didn't move, and stood at the entrance with two other people who had arrived around the same time.
Before long, several figures emerged from the shadows of the side shed.
Out of the corner of her eye, Mo Zuili noticed that two people had originally come looking for her, but after another hunched figure walked towards her, the two people quickly left in other directions.
The person who approached her was an old woman, her back bent like a fully drawn bow, her head full of white hair tied up with a tattered strip of cloth, a few strands of gray hair hanging down in front of her face, covering most of her features, only revealing her lips.
The old woman stopped in front of Mo Zuili, her voice hoarse: "One hundred low-grade spirit stones. I'll show you around. I can point you to whatever you want to buy or wherever you want to go. The roads in this Demon Realm are treacherous. Without someone familiar with the area, even if you find a place, you're likely to be robbed."
Mo Zuili crossed her arms, cleared her throat, and deliberately lowered her voice: "Eighty."
The old woman remained silent.
Mo Zuili raised an eyebrow in confusion. Surely it can't be impossible.
Based on Qi Shuyan's experience and that of reading novels, the black market was full of unscrupulous merchants who would overcharge and rip people off.
In order to hide one's true financial situation, one must bargain.
According to Qi Shuyan's instructions, it should have been cut in half directly.
But Mo Zuili was afraid that haggling would be too troublesome, so she only tentatively cut the price by twenty.
Did we cut too much?
Just as Mo Zuili was beginning to doubt herself, the old woman nodded and said, "Alright."
Mo Zuili deftly tossed out a bag of spirit stones, saying, "I need to find something to strengthen my cultivation and protect my meridians."
Mo Zuili didn't explicitly say that her foundation was weak, but only vaguely mentioned, "Humans, demons, and monsters are all fine, as long as they are useful."
The old woman took the spirit stone, staggered around, and said, "There are few who can solidify one's foundation, but there are a few who can protect one's veins. However, if you're looking for a reliable one, there's an old demonic cultivator near the tower who used to study these things. I'll take you there."
This is also what Shen Qingxing told himself: there are many black markets in the Soul Broken Tower, and the relationships within them are very complicated. Without someone to guide you, it is difficult to find what you want to buy.
Not being able to find the way is only one aspect; more importantly, the lack of a guide will attract the attention of some demonic cultivators.
There are demonic cultivators who specialize in robbing these kinds of people.
Some reckless and desperate demonic cultivators won't care about your cultivation level.
A group of people targeted a lone individual and swarmed towards him.
Following the old woman inside, Mo Zuili observed the surroundings.
Seeing that some demonic cultivators were directly displaying the things they wanted to sell, Mo Zuili was puzzled. Given the chaos in the demon realm, how come no demons were snatching them away?
The next instant, Mo Zuili saw a blue-faced demonic cultivator emerge and reach out to snatch the pills from a roadside stall. Before he could even touch the porcelain bottle, he was frozen in place by an invisible force and could only move two seconds later.
The shed owner had already drawn his bone knife, and two seemingly idle demonic cultivators beside him suddenly made their move, quickly pinning the demonic cultivator who was trying to steal something to the ground.
They thought they had subdued him, but the green-faced demonic cultivator suddenly erupted and broke free again.
Seeing that she was about to pass by, Mo Zuili slowed down, wanting to see if the green-faced demonic cultivator could escape.
Just then, two figures darted out of the shadows, like ghosts without substance, and bit the demonic cultivator's neck.
The demonic cultivator instantly let out a shrill scream, his body visibly shrivel up, his skin wrinkled like old tree bark.
The whole process took less than three seconds. It wasn't until the green-faced demonic cultivator was drained that Mo Zuili could see that the two red-eyed women who had rushed out were actually the demonic cultivator.
Having sucked enough blood, they released their mouths and vanished into the shadows in a flash, leaving only a desiccated corpse lying on the ground.
Mo Zuili paused, glancing at the mummified corpse a few more times.
The old woman, sensing that Mo Zuili hadn't followed, spoke without turning her head: "Every day, there are fools who don't know their own mortality trying to steal our goods. The stalls around the Soul-Severing Tower all have powerful backers; stealing is just courting death."
Mo Zuili raised an eyebrow: "Pretty orderly, huh?"
The old woman sneered, "It's just order within chaos, otherwise how would we survive?"
Having said that, he said no more and simply led the way.
After circling around for a while, Mo Zuili had figured out the ins and outs of this black market.
At least half of them are scammers.
Some say that bathing in demon blood can strengthen one's foundation, but that blood contains insects, let alone spiritual energy, and not even a trace of demonic energy.
Some people sell medicinal herbs to nourish one's roots, but the leaves of these herbs emit black smoke when touched.
Finally, I spotted a stall with a black scroll on display. The owner, a bearded demonic cultivator, patted his chest and assured me that cultivating with this scroll within an array would gradually nourish my foundation.
They said they've been selling here for over ten years, and none of the users have ever come back to complain that it doesn't work.
With the gambling mentality of a novel protagonist who always manages to snag a bargain, Mo Zuili spent fifty spirit stones to buy it.
Upon opening it, the runes on the scroll were twisted and eerie, and a wave of demonic energy rushed out.
After staring at it for a while, Mo Zuili finally spotted a familiar rune in a short section of runes.
The slurred translation is: "Guide your own soul into the formation, nourish your foundation with your soul, and you will see results in three months."
Mo Zuili remained silent for a long while. Just as she was about to put the scroll away, she saw a line of small characters at the very end of the scroll: "When the soul is exhausted, one dies."
Mo Zuili laughed in exasperation.
No wonder the users didn't come back to complain; they all lost their soul refinement. Isn't this just a default assumption of a 100% positive review rate?
After throwing the scroll back into the Sumeru Ring, Mo Zuili made up her mind to burn it as soon as she turned around.
After following the old woman for a long time through the alleys of the black market, Mo Zuili's boots were covered with black mud unique to the demon realm, while his Sumeru Ring contained a bunch of junk.
They had spent nearly a hundred spirit stones, but they hadn't even seen the two methods Chu Qing had mentioned that were applicable to the demon race.
Having familiarized herself with the surrounding scenery, Mo Zuili raised an eyebrow and exclaimed, "Is that all?"
The old woman, her back hunched, spoke in a hoarse voice: "The Demon Realm is a mixed bag, and good things are not easily found. Methods to repair meridians are rare, and the foundation-strengthening technique you seek is even more so. I've already shown you everything I could."
Mo Zuili scoffed and retorted, "Is it something that can't be found? I think it's just that your connections aren't good enough."
After spitting it out, Mo Zuili felt relieved. To prevent the old woman from turning on him at the slightest provocation, Mo Zuili quietly reached for the Phoenix Flame Spear in his Sumeru Ring, ready to fight at any moment.
After waiting for a while, Mo Zuili finally received a scrutinizing look from the old woman.
"Young man, you can't speak carelessly. Some of the treasures here can't be exchanged for spirit stones alone."
Mo Zuili realized almost instantly that she hadn't given enough!
Seeing that Mo Zuili had reacted, the old woman took out two palm-sized pieces of black paper with her withered hands, handed them to Mo Zuili, and said, "What you want is on this."
Mo Zuili didn't move. She scanned the area several times with her divine sense to make sure there were no traps before carefully taking it with her fingertips wrapped in spiritual power.
It feels like stone to the touch, with a smooth, unpatterned surface, and there is neither spiritual energy fluctuation nor demonic energy entanglement.
Mo Zuili was somewhat puzzled.
Mo Zuili's eyes widened only after she saw the contents clearly.
This is an essential plot point in fantasy novels.
Black market auction!
The items on the table were all treasures to be auctioned. Mo Zuili looked at them five or six times and confirmed that the "Phoenix Perching Liquid" on the table was the same liquid that Chu Qing had told her about, which was effective in consolidating one's foundation and was extremely rare.
Clearing her throat, Mo Zuili feigned ignorance and asked, "What is this? Is there a place in the Demon Realm where a group of people and treasures can be gathered together without causing trouble?"
The old woman didn't answer directly, but instead stretched out her withered hand, palm up, and said, "A fifth-grade pill, regardless of its efficacy. I will give you an entry token."
Mo Zuili, his face hidden beneath his black robe, smiled silently.
Mo Zuili wasn't without fifth-grade pills, but this person's arrogant and overbearing attitude, without offering any explanation, made her very unhappy.
Mo Zuili was about to turn around and leave, thinking that she could just spend her own money to find someone else.
Even an old woman who leads the way has an access token, which shows that this auction is not a high-end venue with members.
As soon as he turned around, the old woman seemed to see through Mo Zuili's thoughts and slowly said, "The Demon Realm is a mixed bag, with many auctions, many real and many fake. You won't find this one if you look for other people."
Mo Zuili didn't stop walking. What the old woman said might be true, but Mo Zuili couldn't be sure if the auction in the old woman's hands was real.
After all, the items on the black paper were extremely valuable treasures, and Mo Zuili did not believe that any demonic cultivator in the Demon Realm would be able to protect these items at the auction.
"As an outsider, you must have heard about the trials of the demon and monster races, right? The Xie siblings are about to become the Demon Lords, so they naturally have the ability to protect the treasures."
Mo Zuili paused in her steps.
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