Even a Titled Douluo Was Baffled: What Was This Little Thing?
The faint light of dawn filtered through the floor-to-ceiling window curtains of the Rose Hotel's top-floor suite, casting patches of warmth across the red carpet.
On the broad, soft, heart-shaped round bed, Chu Yuan slowly opened his eyes. A pale golden divine light flickered in their depths and vanished.
After subduing Zhu Zhuqing last night, he had brought the three women back to this suite at the Rose Hotel.
Now, two warm, soft, silky bodies nestled against him, one on either side.
Keqing, on his left, seemed to have been awake for some time, lying quietly against his chest.
In the morning light, the Liyue Yuheng's purple hair fell a little untidily over her shoulders, and the neckline of her purple-and-black dress hung slightly open. Her long, shapely legs, clad in deep-purple stockings, rested lightly against Chu Yuan's.
Noticing that Chu Yuan was awake, Keqing's amethyst eyes flashed with a hint of shyness.
"My lord, you're awake."
She spoke softly, pushing her sore, limp body upright. Taking the white robe with gold patterns that hung at the head of the bed, she carefully helped Chu Yuan put it on and straightened it for him.
The movement also woke Mona on his other side. Still half-asleep, she rubbed her mint-green eyes.
She turned over, the black pantyhose covering her long, full legs taking on an alluring sheen in the morning light.
"Mmm... is it morning already?"
Mona gave a little yawn. When she met Chu Yuan's faintly amused gaze, she immediately remembered their intimate moments after returning to the room last night, and her entire oval face flushed red in an instant.
She scrambled off the bed and fumbled to fetch the warm water and towel from the table, personally attending to Chu Yuan as he washed.
Just then, an extremely soft yet steady breathing sound came from outside the suite's tightly closed carved door.
"Come in."
Chu Yuan straightened his cuffs and spoke calmly.
The door opened soundlessly, and a graceful figure in a close-fitting black leather outfit stepped inside.
"This subordinate, Zhu Zhuqing, greets my lord, Lady Keqing, and Lady Mona."
Chu Yuan picked up the tea Keqing handed him and took a sip, looking down at Zhu Zhuqing from above:
"What's happening outside?"
"My lord, this subordinate slipped into the streets to investigate early this morning. Since the five death warriors of the Star Luo Imperial Family disappeared last night, no new pursuers have arrived in the city."
Zhu Zhuqing paused, then continued her report, her tone growing serious:
"However, this subordinate learned that the Suotuo Rare Treasures Auction House in the west of the city is holding a special auction this morning. Rumor has it that last night, the auction house acquired several 'otherworldly treasures' that fell from the Heavenly Abyss Rift in the mountains on the southern border of the Balak Kingdom. Quite a few Soul Masters and nobles in the city have been heading west because of it."
As her words fell, Chu Yuan felt a slight warmth in his left palm.
"The Rare Treasures Auction House in the west of the city... it seems there's no doubt they're relics that fell from Teyvat."
Chu Yuan set down his teacup and slowly rose to his feet:
"Let's go take a look."
"Yes, my lord."
Half an hour later, in the west of Suotuo City, at the Rare Treasures Auction House.
As the largest place to burn money in the Balak Kingdom, the domed building, which occupied nearly a hundred mu, was exceptionally lively today.
The white stone plaza before the entrance was packed with luxurious horned-horse carriages, while Soul Masters and wealthy merchants in all manner of clothing jostled shoulder to shoulder.
As Chu Yuan and the three women slowly climbed the steps, much of the noisy chatter around them immediately died down.
The auction house's chief steward, who stood guard at the main entrance, was a Soul Ancestor above level forty with a sharp eye.
The moment he saw Chu Yuan's bearing, and especially when he sensed the unfathomable presence of Keqing and Mona, his heart tightened. He hurried forward and bowed:
"Your honored presence truly brings light to our humble establishment! May I ask whether you have reserved a private room, young master?"
Chu Yuan's expression remained indifferent. He did not even lower his head to look at him.
Zhu Zhuqing, following behind him, immediately stepped forward and said coldly:
"Arrange a quiet private room on the top floor with the best view. No outsiders are to disturb us."
"Yes, yes, of course! Heaven No. 3 VIP room on the top floor is still available. Please come inside, honored guests!"
The chief steward personally led the way with his back bent, guiding Chu Yuan and the three women through the heavily guarded VIP passage to the ring of suspended private rooms on the auction house's third floor.
The Heaven No. 3 room was lavishly furnished and faced the circular crystal auction platform in the center below. Through the one-way transparent glass window, they could take in the entire venue.
Chu Yuan sat down in the large cushioned chair at the seat of honor. Keqing and Mona naturally sat on either side of him, while Zhu Zhuqing stood straight behind his chair, keeping a vigilant watch on their surroundings.
Just then, Mona glanced at the Heaven No. 1 room diagonally across from them and gave a soft exclamation:
"There seems to be a rather haughty local girl sitting in that room."
Chu Yuan followed her gaze and glanced over.
In the VIP room diagonally opposite, where the gauze curtains had not been drawn, sat a girl who looked to be no more than twelve or so.
She wore an exquisite dress as white as snow. Her smooth, shoulder-length hair framed a breathtakingly pretty face, delicate as carved jade, and her skin was so fair it was almost translucent.
On the surface, she wore a gentle, otherworldly smile, but as her lively eyes swept over the ordinary Soul Masters in the hall below, they could not hide the arrogance of someone born into a foremost noble family, nor her utter boredom.
Her slender fingers idly played with a purple-gold Soul Coin card inlaid with seven-colored patterns.
The little witch of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong.
Clearly, this little princess, who had just sneaked out of her sect and planned to enroll at Shrek Academy the next day, had also been drawn by the rumors of "otherworldly treasures" and had come here especially to join the excitement.
Chu Yuan looked away, paying no mind to this little girl who had yet to suffer any setbacks.
Soon, the lights suddenly converged on the crystal auction platform below.
An elderly, white-haired auctioneer in a tailcoat strode onto the raised platform. After selling several ordinary thousand-year Soul Tools and rare medicinal herbs in succession, thoroughly heating up the atmosphere, the old auctioneer gave a mysterious, solemn smile and clapped his hands.
Four guards at the Three-Ring Soul Elder level carried a sealed cold-jade tray onto the platform together.
"Honored guests, this next set of final lots is surely the reason you have all gathered here today!"
The old auctioneer spoke in a booming voice and whipped the red silk off the tray:
"The night before last, the heavens split open in a phenomenon unseen through the ages, and countless streaks of otherworldly light fell onto the continent. At tremendous expense, our establishment recovered these three otherworldly marvels, found together in a crater on Barak's southern border!"
The instant the red silk came off, a soft, clear azure light mixed with a brilliant dark-gold radiance, illuminating the entire auction hall!
Three items lay quietly in the center of the cold-jade tray:
A fist-sized piece of strange ore, with what seemed to be azure starlight and pure light element sealed within it; three dark-gold ancient coins, their surfaces engraved with intricate divine contract patterns and emanating an ancient, weighty pressure; and half a piece of strange yellow stone, floating an inch or so above the tray as a pale-gold, Geo-attribute sheen circulated over it.
"That's... Lumenstone Ore from the Chasm, and a fragment of Plaustrite?!"
Inside the private room, Keqing's amethyst eyes suddenly lit up the moment she got a clear look at the items on the tray. She could not help speaking softly:
"And the patterns on those three gold coins... there's no mistake. That's Primordial Adeptal Mora, personally forged by the Rex Lapis with his divine power in his early years and containing the laws of contracts!"
Beside her, Mona's eyes also lit up as she stared at the three Adeptal Ancient Mora:
"Wow! It really is Mora, and ancient Mora containing a high concentration of Geo power, at that! The light element in that Lumenstone Ore is incredibly pure too!"
Understanding flashed in Chu Yuan's eyes.
Lumenstone Ore could be used to dispel the filth of the Abyss and build a divine court's pure land; the Plaustrite fragment and Adeptal Ancient Mora were even better mediums for anchoring Teyvat's Geo Ley Lines.
If these three things fell into the hands of Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent, they would be utterly unable to absorb the elemental laws within them. At most, they could use them as somewhat harder forging materials or glowing ornaments. But to Chu Yuan's [Irminsul] and [Crown of Heavenly Principles], they were exceptionally useful nourishment.
At that moment, the old auctioneer on the platform below continued his introduction, looking a little embarrassed:
"To be honest, these three otherworldly marvels are made of unusual materials. Our chief appraiser tried every method at his disposal but could not cut into them in the slightest, much less absorb them directly with Soul Power. However, the energy they contain is of an extremely high level. Whether you collect and study them or ask a divine craftsman to research and forge them, they are priceless! The three marvels will be auctioned as a set, with a starting price of five thousand Gold Soul Coins and minimum increments of five hundred!"
As soon as he finished, hesitant murmurs broke out across the hall.
Five thousand Gold Soul Coins was no small sum. Buying three pieces of stone and copper coins that could neither be used as Soul Tools nor smelted by any known method gave most of the local Barak Soul Masters present pause.
However, just as everyone hesitated, Ning Rongrong suddenly sat up straight in the Heaven No. 1 room diagonally opposite!