Chapter 3742 - 3746 Underground Market
Alastair asked, “How peculiar. Could it be possible that you passed Lunarius Palace’s illusion array?” Th
John answered honestly, “Of course. I even passed Lunarius Palace’s test. The day after tomorrow, I’ll be heading to the polar region. That’s why I specifically came to Pathfinder Sect to pick up a few items.”
With a sense of regret, Alastair exclaimed, “Why did you shop at Pathfinder Sect? It’s so expensive. Why didn’t you consider going to the underground market instead?”
“An underground market?” John was taken aback. He had no idea there was an underground market in Southedge City.
“Exactly. The items in this underground market may be disorganized, but you can still find some gems. The best part is the affordability and the chance to haggle. Only the information sold by Pathfinder Sect is somewhat reliable. Everything else is subpar.” It appeared that Alastair wasn’t particularly fond of Pathfinder Sect.
“Where is this underground market located?” John, who was initially about to leave, suddenly became interested. If I can find some good stuff there, that’d be great. Alastair cast a glance at John, stroking his beard thoughtfully. His intentions were clear as day.
John didn’t hesitate at all. He immediately took out a purple spirit coin and tossed it to Alastair. Alastair’s eyes lit up instantly as he hastily put away the purple spirit coin and said, “We’ve known each other for so long. There’s no need for such formalities. I’ll take you there. I know the place like the back of my hand. Besides, I have acquaintances there. It’s impossible to get in without knowing anyone there.”
After Alastair finished speaking, he led John toward Southedge City. Before long, Alastair led John to a small courtyard. Surprisingly, within such a tiny courtyard, there were three Fifth Level Tribulators cultivators, and from the looks of it, those three were merely guards.
Upon seeing Alastair, a guard playfully remarked, “Alastair, you old brat. Are you here to swindle again?”
Alastair didn’t get angry. Instead, he chuckled and said, “I brought a guest with me today, a VIP no less. So, keep your eyes peeled. If you offend this VIP, it won’t end well for you.” The three guards gave John a once-over and noted his cultivation level as a Third Level Tribulator.
John looked rather ordinary, not at all like a scion of a wealthy family, which made them somewhat skeptical. While those three guards were busy scrutinizing John, John nonchalantly tossed out three purple spirit coins.
“This is a reward for you all,” John said indifferently. The three guards were left dumbfounded as they stared at the purple spirit coins in their hands. After all, one purple spirit coin was worth a million ordinary spirit coins. The three guards were shocked to their cores. Who’s capable of giving such a generous reward? This must be a big client!
“Sir, please come in. We were ignorant before.” The three guards instantly started treating John with the utmost respect.
Alastair, however, said arrogantly, “I already told you this is a major client, but you all didn’t believe me.”
Alastair pushed the door open and stepped inside. John followed suit, entering what appeared to be a rather ordinary room. It wasn’t particularly spacious and certainly didn’t look like any underground market.
Upon taking in John’s confusion, Alastair lightly stomped on the ground three times. The next second, a beam of light enveloped both John and Alastair.
Immediately after, a burst of brilliant light erupted, and John and his group astonishingly found themselves in a completely different space. This place was bustling with quite a number of cultivators coming and going, making it incredibly lively. Moreover, the place was just like a bustling market, with various stalls lining both sides.
“Pathfinder Sect is strict, prohibiting any private shopping districts. Therefore, this underground market could only exist within this designated space. We also have to stay vigilant against the Pathfinder Sect at all times,” Alastair said with a hint of helplessness.
John gazed at the bustling underground market and couldn’t help but admire the person behind its creation. That person actually managed to establish a whole new space just to host an underground market…
John strolled through the market with Alastair. Although the stalls were plentiful, they lacked worthwhile finds.
No sooner had they taken a few steps than they discovered a stall up ahead that was surrounded by a crowd.
“Let’s go. There must be treasures up ahead. Let’s check it out.” Alastair could tell at first glance that the stall ahead must be selling a valuable item. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have attracted such a crowd.
As soon as John and Alastair approached, they heard a flurry of heated discussions among the crowd.
“This black tortoiseshell is fake, isn’t it? This guy claims it can withstand attacks from an elite cultivator. What a joke!”
“It must be true, but suddenly acquiring a dozen or so black tortoiseshells is like hitting the jackpot.”
“Even though this black tortoiseshell is authentic, it’s only useful when combined with charms. For us ordinary cultivators, it’s pretty much useless. Does anyone here know how to draw runic talismans?”
“At five hundred thousand spirit coins each, they’re not too pricey. The real challenge, however, would be finding a high level charm master to inscribe the talisman. That’ll cost millions of spirit coins.”
As John listened to those cultivators’ chatter, his interest was immediately piqued. He hurriedly squeezed his way into the crowd.
John discovered that the stall owner was an elderly man who appeared somewhat aged. In front of him, he had arranged a dozen or so black tortoiseshells. Astonishingly, those shells were all of the same size, and even more intriguing was the faint spiritual energy he could sense emanating from within those tortoiseshells.
John crouched down, picked up a black tortoiseshell, and began to scrutinize it. The patterns on the tortoiseshells were distinct, and spiritual energy emanated continuously from within. John reckoned those tortoiseshells were genuine.
“Though the black tortoiseshell is incredibly tough, it only works in conjunction with charms. Without drawing runic talismans onto the tortoiseshell, it’s no more effective than a regular golden chain mail. However, if one can draw runic talismans and combine them with the black tortoiseshell, it’ll be capable of fending off attacks from elite cultivators. As for how powerful an attack the tortoiseshell can withstand, that’ll depend on the skill level of the charm master”
“Let’s go check out other places. This thing is just not worth it!” Alastair said, giving John a tug.
To those ordinary cultivators, half a million spirit coins for one item was no small sum. Moreover, they saw no use in having such a thing in their possession. If they were to hire a high-level charm master to draw the runic talisman, the cost would likely skyrocket.
Upon hearing Alastair’s words, John was overjoyed inside, yet he managed to maintain a poker face. He was cautious not to let the vendor seize the opportunity to hike up the price.
John turned to the stall owner and asked, “If I were to buy all of these black tortoiseshells, would it be possible to get a discount?”
“You want to buy all of them?” the stall owner asked, looking at John with a hint of surprise.
“That’s right. I’ll take them all, but your price needs to be reasonable.” John casually fiddled with those black tortoiseshells, feigning disinterest.
The stall owner studied John, then glanced at his black tortoiseshells and said, “There are thirteen black tortoiseshells here. You can just pay me five million spirit coins for everything.”
“Okay.” Without hesitation, John pulled out five purple spirit coins and handed them to the stall owner.
Immediately after, he stowed away the thirteen black tortoiseshells into his Storage Ring, Once the deal was done, John didn’t linger and got up to leave at once. After the stall owner witnessed how decisive John was in making the deal, a hint of regret surfaced in his eyes. If I had known earlier, I would have set the price higher.
The other cultivators were also similarly astonished to see how readily John purchased all the black tortoiseshells.
Alastair was particularly shocked. He hastily caught up with John and said, “Sir, don’t take this the wrong way, but even if you’re rich, you can’t just spend money like this. You’re squandering your wealth!”
Alastair wore a pained expression as if John had just spent his money. Observing Alastair’s demeanor, John merely chuckled without uttering a word. This guy is really quite the miser. He probably values money more than his life.
“Is there a more upscale stall in this market? Browsing each one is just too time-consuming.” John wanted to go straight to the stalls selling high-end items. Looking for something worthwhile at those ordinary stalls was like finding a needle in a haystack.
After a moment of contemplation, Alastair whispered, “I know of an auction, but to enter, each person has to pay a million spirit coins, So…”
“I’ll pay for you. Bring me there.” John fathomed Alastair’s intention. He doesn’t want to spend his money!
After listening to John’s response, Alastair beamed with joy and said, “Okay. I’ll take you there right now. I’ve never even entered that place before.” Alastair navigated through the bustling market with John.
Eventually, they arrived in front of a grand hall. At the entrance of the hall, two Seventh Level Tribulators stood guard. John was astounded to see the strength of those guards. The more he observed, the more he realized the extraordinary nature of the person running that underground market.
Upon seeing Alastair and John arrive, one of the guards extended his hand. John was taken aback.
Alastair quickly chimed in, “You need to pay.”
Only then did John gain clarity. He quickly pulled out two purple spirit coins and handed them over.
Upon seeing the purple spirit coin, the two guards immediately stepped aside. Then, both simultaneously made a light sweeping gesture with their hands.
Subsequently, John and Alastair were both shrouded in an enigmatic aura. The aura, akin to a spiritual energy shield, enveloped the two of them. John furrowed his brows slightly, instinctively wanting to resist.
“Don’t move. It’s okay. This is to prevent the leakage of our aura. Anyone who enters here isn’t allowed to reveal their aura. Also, we need to alter your appearance a bit. That way, no one will know who anyone is. That’s because there are some items in this auction that are worth a fortune. This is done to ensure the safety of the buyers. After all, it would be dangerous if someone set their sights on the buyers,” Alastair explained the rules to John.
Upon hearing that, John finally understood. So, this is all in the interest of protecting the buyers. This is also to prevent the inevitable conflicts that will arise when multiple people vie for the same item. The final buyer will undoubtedly become a target. However, if the buyer’s identity remains unknown and even their aura is undetectable, no one will know who they are even after they leave this auction place.
John followed Alastair into the hall, which was already filled with numerous cultivators. However, John couldn’t be certain whether those cultivators had altered their appearances.
John followed Alastair to a spot toward the back and settled down, quietly waiting. Roughly fifteen minutes later, a few more cultivators gradually made their entrance. Immediately after, the doors to the hall were shut, and the entire hall was enveloped by a force.
An elderly man with white hair slowly ascended the stage and spoke in an icy tone. “The time has come. The auction is about to commence. Among you, we have both familiar faces and newcomers, so allow me to go over the rules once again. Here, every item goes to the highest bidder. No one knows who you are, so don’t expect to intimidate others with your status. Whether you’re an ordinary individual or a sect elder, everyone is treated equally. This auction only recognizes money, not individuals. No one should even think about causing trouble here, or they will bear the consequences!”
Surprisingly, the elderly man made no attempt to conceal his aura, clearly revealing his cultivation level as a Top Level Tribulator.
John figured perhaps that was also meant to intimidate those present at the scene better. The elderly man’s words were indeed effective. The scene, which was somewhat noisy just a moment ago, had now become incredibly quiet.
Seeing everyone quiet and settled down, the elderly man continued, “There’s another rule around here. Once you’ve bought something, the sale is final. No returns or exchanges are allowed. Before you bid, make sure you’ve accurately assessed the item’s value. If it seems worth it, go ahead and bid. If not, don’t. Once you’ve won the item, don’t come to us claiming it’s a fake. We won’t take responsibility for that.”
John thought the elderly man’s words made sense. That’s just how auctions work. One should assess the item’s value and bid if one feels it’s worth it. If not, one shouldn’t bid. No one is going to pay for another’s decisions.
At this point, everyone’s experience will be put to the test. If one ends up buying a counterfeit, it’ll be utterly embarrassing. That’ll be no different from suffering a double loss.
“Monte, we all understand the rules,” they said.
“Please hurry up, we’re all anxious here.” At that moment, a cultivator spoke to the old man. It was clear that this cultivator was a regular, likely very familiar with the place. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made such a remark!
“Okay, then I will reveal the first treasure to you all!” After Monte Wasch finished speaking, he casually waved his hand! A staff member approached, carrying an item shrouded in red cloth!
As the red cloth was lifted, a statue was revealed to the crowd. However, the statue appeared extremely ancient and timeworn, seemingly adorned with patches of rust. However, the moment the red cloth was removed, an aura of time-worn melancholy instantly filled the air!
Following this, Monte infused the statue with a surge of spiritual energy. Almost immediately, the statue began to shimmer with a radiant glow. This holy light was incredibly soothing to the beholder!
Upon witnessing this scene, many of the cultivators became restless. Even Alastair was so, enthralled that he literally jumped out of his seat!
“Could this be a deity sculpture? I absolutely adore such things, you know. My home is filled with quite a collection of these deity figures.” Alastair’s breathing quickened, and he spoke in a somewhat excited tone.
John didn’t utter a word. Instead, he just quietly observed.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this statue was discovered in a cave at Demonia Mountain. As you may know, our Demonia Mountain was once the Celestial Battlefield. Countless supreme beings have fallen there, so it’s quite normal to find scattered magical items. Although this statue is a bit damaged and old now, there’s still a certain charm about it. If anyone wants it, it’s theirs for just five million spirit coins. Of course, the highest bidder wins. If anyone wants to raise the price, they’re welcome to. The starting bid is five million!” Monte announced to the crowd.
“What’s going on this year? They’ve kicked things off with such a precious item. It looks like something left behind by immortals.”
“Five million, the price isn’t too steep, but the item is just a bit too run-down!”
“There should be more good stuff coming up. Let’s wait and see!” Numerous cultivators were whispering among themselves!
Yet, Alastair seemed a bit impatient, raising his hand and saying, “I bid five million…”
John looked at Alastair, a usually greedy fellow. Hence, John was surprised to see him acting so generously. Without any hesitation, he had placed a bid on this shabby statue! John stared at the statue, unable to discern its authenticity. After all, their auras had been shielded, preventing the use of spiritual sense. Relying solely on the naked eye, it was impossible to make out anything!
“Someone actually wanted this fake trinket…” At that moment, Vermilion Demon Lord began to speak within John’s consciousness field. Is this fake? John was taken aback.
Of course, a deity doesn’t really look like that. And that holy light just now, it was definitely not a divine aura. A bunch of clueless folks like them, they’ve surely never seen the real holy light. With my Nethersky Eye, I can tell at just one glance… Once Vermilion Demon Lord finished speaking, John felt as though the world before his eyes had instantly changed color!
Vermilion Demon Lord had opened Nethersky Eye for him. At that moment, intricate patterns began to appear on the statue in John’s view! John was intently studying the statue when suddenly, it all made sense to him! It turned out that just now, it was not holy light or profound aura at all. They all came from a very small array runes etched within this statue. Once activated by spiritual energy, the alleged holy light would appear. Because these array runes was inside the statue, it was impossible to see them with the naked eye!
As John stared at the fake statue, he was suddenly on high alert. It seemed that the auction had been designed to suppress their aura, not allowing people to reveal their true aura. It wasn’t for safety reasons as he’d initially thought, but rather, it was likely a scheme to facilitate the sale of fake items. After all, they couldn’t emit their spiritual senses to investigate.
Relying solely on their eyes made it difficult to discern the truth. In this way, they could openly sell fakes without fear of being discovered!
“Indeed, every capitalist’s blood is tainted.” A wave of contempt couldn’t help but surge within John’s heart! The individuals capable of running such an underground market and these kinds of auctions were surely driven by the pursuit of wealth!
Since it was all for money, no method was off the table. Perhaps this was just human nature.
“I’ll offer six million…” Someone else had raised their hand, offering a bid!
This caused Alastair to slightly furrow his brow, experiencing a twinge in his heart. However, as he looked at the statue before him, Alastair could only raise his hand again and say, “I bid seven million…” This time, Alastair was gritting his teeth as he made his bid. If he wasn’t extremely fond of it, there was no way he would have continued to raise the price!
“I offer eight million…” The individual glanced at Alastair, and then once again, he called out a higher bid!
Alastair’s eyes were wide open in surprise. Just as he was about to raise his hand, he was abruptly pulled back by John! This time, John nearly dragged Alastair to the ground! Baffled, Alastair turned his gaze toward John.
In a hushed voice, John said, “Stop bidding. The statue is fake…”
“Fake?” Alastair was greatly surprised. However, his statement immediately attracted many glances. Alastair quickly lowered his voice and asked, “How did you know it was fake?”
“Don’t worry about it, it’s all a sham anyway. Inside this statue, there’s a miniature array runes. Once spiritual energy is channeled into it, the array runes will activate, emitting a light similar to holy light,” John explained.
Upon hearing this, Alastair looked at John with a skeptical expression. However, he didn’t proceed to bid. Monte watched Alastair quietly, as if waiting for him to make an offer. However, after waiting for a while and seeing that Alastair was not bidding, Monte had no choice but to announce loudly, “Since no one else is bidding, this statue is sold for eight million!”
However, after he had finished speaking, Monte cast a rather piercing glance at John! It was quite clear that Alastair stopped bidding because of John. Monte wasn’t upset because Alastair didn’t raise the price. Rather, he was a bit puzzled. How did John know that his statue was a fake without revealing any aura or using any spiritual sense to investigate? Could John figure it out just with his naked eye?
Monte had no clue at all that John had used Nethersky Eye to discern the statue’s authenticity.
Following that, one precious item after another was brought forth-all sorts of odds and ends, from incomplete cultivation techniques, and pills left behind by immortals, to celestial beast cores. However, after John scanned the items with his Nethersky Eye, he realized that most of it was a sham. There wasn’t a trace of the authentic ancient aura! However, numerous cultivators began to fervently bid and compete for it! John was also helpless.
At that time, their aura was confined and, frankly, they were as good as blind. They couldn’t even spot a fake, let alone discern anything! Yet, Monte had the audacity to claim it was for safety reasons. It seemed this auction was nothing but a scam.
John’s heart sank. If he had known things would turn out this way, he wouldn’t have come at all. He had wasted two million spiritual coins for nothing! John stood up, intending to leave. Staying here was nothing but a waste of time!
“Ladies and gentlemen, the item I am about to present is a rare treasure of this world, one I believe none of you have ever laid eyes on before.”
The words that Monte spoke next made John, who was about to leave, halt in his tracks. John settled back into his seat, eager to examine whatever it was that no one had ever seen before. An employee was seen approaching, cradling a wooden box in both hands.
A red envelope was placed atop the wooden box. After carefully placing it down, the staff member then withdrew. Monte, on the other hand, gently tugged at a corner of the red cloth, then said, “Ladies and gentlemen, keep your eyes wide open. I dare say none of you have ever seen such a treasure!”
“Monte, hurry up,” they urged, “Stop keeping us in suspense, we’re all on edge!” A cultivator cried out loudly.
“All right!” Monte exclaimed, and then he lifted the red cloth. Upon looking, it was clear that the wooden box was transparent. Inside the box, there was a skeletal arm.
i know that u luv me 
.. 1 day we will meet i will show u my luv
and cultivate together 
