Chapter 148 Black Market Auction
When the three arrived at the black market street, it was already packed with people, who seemed to be trying to squeeze into the auction house.
At the gate, several masked men in black were distributing number plates to those entering. As a result, half an hour had passed, and Ye Luo and his two companions had been pacing in the same spot.
"There are just too many people!" Cen Feng's initial excitement was gradually worn down by the long queue, and he said impatiently, "When will it be our turn?"
Looking at the throng of people ahead, Ye Luo couldn't help but feel a little worried. She said, "So many people... I feel like the venue won't be big enough."
Suddenly, the crowd in front stirred. A burly man cursed and, with his immense physical strength, forced his way through the crowd, followed by a chorus of wails and curses.
What are you doing!
"You bunch of useless trash, get out of my way!"
"You son of a bitch, are you asking for a beating?!"
"Come on then, if you dare!"
But before the burly man could finish speaking, a cold, black iron chain suddenly tightened around his neck, suspending him from the air. A deep, icy voice rang out: "Anyone who dares to cause trouble in the black market will be killed without mercy!"
After this act of making an example of someone, those who were originally itching to cause trouble immediately abandoned their plans and obediently lined up to wait.
Seeing this, Ye Luo's eyes flickered slightly, and she said, "It seems that the power behind this black market is quite strong..."
Feng Yue, dodging the crowd, said, "...or should we leave? We might not be able to get a picture even if we go in..."
Cen Feng: "No way! We finally made it, it would be a shame to leave now!"
"I feel terrible...I want to leave..."
Cen Feng made some space for him, "Is this alright now? Just bear with it a little longer!"
Upon hearing this, Feng Yue could only nod helplessly.
At this moment, an elderly man walked out of the auction hall and said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry! The hall is already full and we can't accommodate any more of you. Please leave!"
The crowd booed and grumbled a few times before leaving.
"Huh? It'll be our turn soon..." Cen Feng's face fell instantly, and he stood there looking on with some resentment.
Seeing this, Ye Luo could only shrug and say, "Forget it, let's go back." Considering that they had been wandering around for almost the entire night, it was time to return to the sect.
Just as they turned to leave, the old man standing outside the door called out to them, "Please wait, you three."
"Hmm?" Ye Luo turned to look at him, pondered for a moment, then bowed and said, "May I ask what brings you here, senior?"
"There are three seats left. If you still want to go in, then come in with me." After saying that, the man didn't say anything more and turned to walk inside.
"Great!" Cen Feng's face lit up with joy upon hearing this, and he was about to follow him inside when Ye Luo grabbed his arm. "Wait!"
"What's wrong, junior brother?"
"I have a feeling that something's not quite right..."
"Aren't you overthinking it? What could possibly be wrong?" Cen Feng said excitedly as he ran inside.
"Hey! Fifth Senior Brother!" Ye Luo could only helplessly follow Feng Yue inside.
The old man in black walked ahead, and Ye Luo secretly began to devise a plan so that she would have a way to deal with any unexpected situation.
Suddenly he stopped and pointed to a private room beside him. "This is room number six in the 'Heavenly' section. You can all go in." With that, he quickly left, leaving the three of them looking at each other in bewilderment.
"A private room?" Ye Luo was even more puzzled. She pushed open the door and went inside to investigate for a long time, but didn't seem to notice anything amiss. "Do you know anyone from this auction house?"
Cen Feng and Feng Yue shook their heads upon hearing this, while Ye Luo frowned slightly. "I feel something is off about this place. Shall we leave?"
"No, so many people have come in, there shouldn't be any problems." Cen Feng became anxious and guessed, "Maybe they really are just extras... Do the three of us have something that they would covet?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Luo's eyes twitched slightly. The number of spirit stones in his storage bracelet was not small; wasn't that enough to make others covet it?
Feng Yue hesitated and said, "I... I think there shouldn't be any problem. Auction houses have always valued reputation and followed the rules, so they shouldn't do anything to us."
"Alright, just be quick-witted and act accordingly later." Ye Luo was puzzled, but that was all she could do.
At this moment, in a private room on the upper floor of the auction house, the old man in black robes bowed and said, "My lord, everything has been arranged. They are in private room number six."
"Hmm, well done. This cultivation technique is yours." After saying that, Yan Xiao tossed over a cultivation technique, leaned against the couch, and poured himself a drink.
The old man, his hands trembling, quickly flipped through the document, his face full of gratitude. "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Yan Xiao waved his hand, "You've managed the Eastern Region black market quite well over the years, this is a reward you deserve."
"May I ask, Your Majesty, what important matter has brought you here today?"
Yan Xiao held his wine glass, a smile playing on his lips, and said, "Yes, it is indeed important, but I'm not here to check your accounts, so don't worry."
Upon hearing this, the old man chuckled sheepishly and said, "Your Majesty, your words have made this old servant tremble with fear..."
Yan Xiao smiled. "Oh? In that case, shall I investigate?"
Upon hearing this, the old man looked bitter and hesitated, saying, "Uh... then, this old servant will go and make preparations."
Yan Xiao looked at him and chuckled, saying, "Alright, I don't have the time for that. As long as you don't go too far and pay what you're owed, I won't say anything more."
"Hehe, thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty..."
"Alright, you can leave now."
"yes."
...
After waiting for a full fifteen minutes, the auction finally showed signs of starting.
Ye Luo looked at the stage in the center of the auction hall, where the old man who had led the way was holding a gong mallet. He struck the gong plate sharply and said, "Please be quiet, everyone. The auction is officially starting!"
"It's about to begin!" Cen Feng exclaimed excitedly, about to run out of the openwork screen, when Ye Luo grabbed him. "It's best not to show your face at the auction. Didn't you see they're all wearing masks?"
Are you planning to bid on the product?
"If we come across something good, how can we let it go?" Ye Luo took out a mask and handed it to him. "If you want to go out and see the excitement, put on this mask."
"Oh." Cen Feng obediently put on the mask, leaned against the railing of the private room, and looked at the first item brought to the auction stage.
"First item up for auction: Heavenly Desolate Sunflower Immortal Herb!"
"Gathered from the desolate southern region, this is extremely precious and is one of the important medicinal materials for making high-grade longevity pills. The starting bid is 70,000 spirit stones, and each bid must be at least 1,000 spirit stones higher!"
"Seventy-five thousand spirit stones!"
"Eighty thousand spirit stones!"
"Eighty-two thousand spirit stones!"
"Eighty-five thousand spirit stones!"
...
Ye Luo listened to the bidding below and quickly reached 150,000 spirit stones.
Just as Jun Yi had said, there is a limit to the number of life-extending pills one can consume. Only by refining higher-grade pills can one achieve the effect of extending lifespan.
"Okay, 350,000 once, 350,000 twice, 350,000 three times, deal!"
"Congratulations to guest number 130 for successfully acquiring this item!"
The old man beckoned to a maid, and a beautiful, alluring woman stepped forward with graceful steps, carrying an item for auction. "This is a divine-grade storage ring, starting bid 100,000 spirit stones—"
"Wait!" A sharp shout suddenly interrupted the old man's words.
A man in a blue, close-fitting outfit slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his eyes blazing with fury. "This belongs to an elder of the Yang family! Who killed him? Get out here right now!"
Upon hearing this, the room fell silent, but after a moment, everyone burst into laughter, looking like they were all waiting to see a show.
The origins of the items auctioned on the black market are well known to everyone, but no one expected that they would be recognized. Is this a blessing or a curse?
The old man looked at the young man in blue with displeasure and said, "The black market has never questioned the origin of the goods sold. You must not break the rules!"
"To hell with the rules! You'd better hand over the murderer to me today, or I'll smash up your venue!"
"Hmph, he won't listen to reason, so I'll throw him out!"
No sooner had the old man finished speaking than several powerful figures appeared, grabbed the young man in blue, and dragged him away. His curses could still be heard from afar.
"...This black market still has its rules." Ye Luo touched the storage bracelet on her wrist. Sure enough, once you die and your life is over, all the treasures will belong to others.
Thinking of this, he silently took out a mask and put it on, but then still felt it was not quite right, so he put on a black cloak.
Seeing his sudden change to caution, Cen Feng obediently sat back down, craning his neck to look at the ring on the platform, and said, "It's actually a divine-grade storage ring... I wonder when I can have one too..."
Ye Luo: "You want it?"
Cen Feng rested his chin on his hand and muttered softly, "Who wouldn't want it?"
"Let's try taking a picture."
Cen Feng: "Huh? This thing isn't cheap..."
Ye Luo: "This is black market goods, so it's definitely much cheaper than outside. Besides, it seems we've already revealed where it came from, so these people probably won't spend too many spirit stones to snatch it. Maybe we can even get a bargain."
"But what if that person comes looking for us..."
"Fortune favors the bold. If you want to film smuggled goods, you have to take the risk. Are you in or not?"
"Yes, you can take a picture of it. I'll find a way to reshape it so that no one will recognize it," Feng Yue said after examining it for a moment.
Cen Feng clapped his hands and laughed, "That's settled then! Quickly take a picture for me!"
"Don't rush, bidding is all about psychological tactics." Ye Luo glanced at him and said, "If you win the bid, you'll have to find a way to pay me back later. We're short on spirit stones right now."
"No problem, I'll find a way to pay you back later!"
"Alright everyone, let's continue our auction. The starting price is 100,000 spirit stones. Please start bidding!"
After a flurry of whispers, a middle-aged man in plain clothes hesitated and said, "One hundred and twenty thousand spirit stones!"
"Alright, is there anything even higher?" Seeing the hesitation on everyone's faces, the old man chuckled and said, "This is a divine-grade storage ring. In an auction house outside, it would usually start at a million. You all shouldn't miss this opportunity!"
"One hundred and five thousand spirit stones!"
"One hundred and eight thousand spirit stones!"
"Two hundred and fifty thousand!"
The old man smiled and said, "Alright, 250,000 spirit stones. Anything higher?"
"Three hundred thousand spirit stones!"
"Alright, VIP number twenty-seven has bid three hundred thousand spirit stones!"
...
Cen Feng nervously watched the bidding below, the price continuing to rise. "Junior brother, hurry up and bid! It's almost 400,000!"
"Don't rush! The more people rush to grab it, the more excited they might become. Let's wait a while longer."
Ye Luo estimated their bottom line and suddenly said, "Four hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones!"
Upon hearing this, the old man glanced at the private room on the second floor and smiled, "Private room number six, the bid is 450,000. Any higher bids?"
"Five hundred thousand!"
At that moment, a cool female voice came from the third private room across the way, causing Ye Luo to pause for a moment before chuckling softly:
"Six hundred thousand. If this young lady wishes to continue bidding, I would be happy to oblige. However, such blood-stained and filthy items are hardly worthy of a celestial being like you. Why not change into something clean?"
"Will saying that help?" Cen Feng asked in a low voice.
"Don't worry, all these proud and arrogant noble ladies have some kind of fastidiousness about their physical and mental health. Besides, after I just said that and pointed out the troublesome origin of it, those people will naturally think twice."
The elderly man hosting the event waited for a long time, but there were no more bids for private room number three. So he cleared his throat and said in a deep voice, "Private room number six, bid of 600,000 spirit stones, any higher bids?"
"Since there are no more, congratulations to the VIP in private room number six for successfully bidding on the divine-grade storage ring!"
Cen Feng was so happy he almost danced with joy, excitedly shaking Ye Luo and saying, "We won?!"
"Yes, congratulations, get ready to pay in installments."
"Don't worry, I'll definitely pay you back in this lifetime!"
Ye Luo: "You should be considered lucky. I reckon these people are here for the later items; they don't even care about this dead thing..."
Cen Feng: "Tch, why care about such superficial things? How many magical treasures in the cultivation world are truly clean?"
As the two were talking, the auction for the third item on the display stand began. Looking down, Ye Luo saw what appeared to be an exquisite box.
The old man tapped lightly, and the box in front of him opened, emitting a blue light. A small array suddenly appeared in the air.
"This is a medium-sized defensive array, created by a master of array formations. It contains the Five Elements array, making it easy to trap and defend against enemies. It is an essential choice for the defensive array of a family or cave dwelling."
"Starting bid—500,000 spirit stones!!"
Hearing this, Ye Luo was also somewhat shocked. It was just a medium-sized illusion array, yet it had a starting bid of 500,000?
And this is the black market price; the normal market price might be even higher...
If it's a large-scale formation... wouldn't it cost at least a million?!
Ye Luo suddenly clapped her hands, startling Cen Feng, who asked, "What's wrong with you?"
"I've thought of a great way to make money?!"
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