The Auction Begins

After Gu He waited boredly in the private room for a while, the auction hall finally filled up.

After waiting a little longer, a clear chime slowly rang throughout the auction house.

As the bell rang, the extremely noisy clamor in the venue gradually subsided. Countless gazes turned toward the crystal auction platform in the center, their eyes burning with anticipation.

At that moment, Mittel~Tu Shan, who had previously appeared in the appraisal room, slowly stepped onto the crystal auction platform.

The moment Mittel~Tu Shan appeared, the once-noisy auction hall fell silent. Everyone present focused their attention on him.

"Hehe, everyone, I imagine you've grown a little impatient. Since that's the case, I won't bore you with any empty formalities."

Standing atop the crystal auction platform, Mittel~Tu Shan smiled at the sea of heads below. His gaze then subtly swept over the factions in the private rooms as his ringing voice echoed through the hall.

As an experienced auctioneer, he knew exactly what the people below wanted to see and what they did not. Therefore, he directly skipped the pointless opening introductions. Indeed, this move from the old man won applause throughout the hall; even Gu He nodded slightly.

"As the foremost auction house in the Jia Ma Empire, I believe this auction hosted by our Mittel Auction House certainly will not disappoint you all." Thinking of the Sixth-grade Dou Ling Pill that had just been listed as one of the finale items, Mittel~Tu Shan spoke with confidence.

Mittel~Tu Shan then lightly clapped his hands and announced loudly, "I hereby declare the Mittel Auction to begin!"

As Mittel~Tu Shan's loud declaration fell, the enormous crystal platform abruptly burst forth with dazzling light. Only after a long while did the glare gradually fade.

On the auction platform before Mittel~Tu Shan stood an entirely azure longsword. Under the lights, it reflected a chilling gleam. Judging by the traces of energy flowing across its blade, it was clearly a Demonic Core Weapon meticulously forged by a master craftsman.

"This sword is named Han Feng. Forged from Cold Iron, it can cut through iron as though it were mud. Furthermore, a Third-grade Ice Attribute Demonic Core has been perfectly embedded within it. If those who cultivate water or ice attributes wield it against their enemies, its power will surely rise to another level. A divine weapon is essential when traveling abroad, so if you are interested, do not be stingy with your money. Gold is precious, certainly, but only if you live long enough to enjoy it, isn't that right? Hehe."

Mittel~Tu Shan held the azure longsword and gave it a shake. A faint chill rose from its blade, forming a barely visible mist of white vapor. Turning toward the auction hall, he smiled and said, "The starting price is one hundred thousand. Please, everyone."

"A Demonic Core Weapon?"

Gu He muttered as he gazed at the longsword on the crystal auction platform.

Longswords were weapons he rather favored, but unfortunately, this one possessed an ice attribute that conflicted with his fire attribute. Otherwise, he could have bought it for one of his disciples.

With that thought, Gu He had no intention of bidding.

There were not many items on the list earlier that had caught his eye.

Other than the Demonic Beast Egg near the end and a medicinal ingredient, he had little interest in anything else.

Of course, Gu He's lack of interest did not mean others felt the same. To a Dou Zhe, a suitable weapon was like a medicinal cauldron in the hands of an alchemist—it was their means of livelihood. Thus, the moment Mittel~Tu Shan finished speaking, a series of bids rang out through the auction hall.

After several minutes of bidding, the first item was successfully purchased by a thin man, whose face was filled with excitement, for one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins.

With the first auction proceeding smoothly, all sorts of dazzling treasures began appearing on the auction platform: precious armor, Dou Techniques, cultivation methods, medicinal ingredients, and more.

Sitting in his soft chair, Gu He calmly watched the others compete for the items. He slightly closed his eyes and waited for the later auction lots.

Like Gu He, no one in the private rooms of the major top-tier clans made a bid.

To them, the items appearing at the beginning were not enough to attract their interest.

Inside the private room of the Nalan Family.

The aged Nalan Jie watched the scene in the auction hall with an indifferent expression.

"This Mittel Auction House is becoming more and more boring."

Looking at the items being auctioned one after another on the platform, Nalan Jie appeared somewhat bored.

"If it weren't for that Fifth-grade Demonic Beast Egg, I wouldn't be interested in this auction at all."

At the thought of the Fifth-grade Demonic Beast Egg, Nalan Jie barely managed to rouse a little interest.

If properly raised, a Fifth-grade Demonic Beast Egg could one day produce an existence at the Dou Wang level.

Nalan Jie intended to buy this Fifth-grade Demonic Beast Egg mainly for his granddaughter, Nalan Yanran.

Thinking of Nalan Yanran, a gratified smile could not help appearing on Nalan Jie's aged face.

His granddaughter had been accepted as a disciple by the Sect Leader of the Misty Cloud Sect. To the Nalan Clan, that was unquestionably a momentous blessing.

Not to mention that Yun Yun had already designated Nalan Yanran as the next successor of the Misty Cloud Sect.

Once Nalan Yanran became the Sect Leader of the Misty Cloud Sect, the strength of the Nalan Family would inevitably undergo a qualitative rise.

By then, even the Jia Ma Imperial Family would likely not dare act against the Nalan Family so easily.

"Ah, it's just a pity for that boy from the Xiao Family."

Thinking of how Nalan Yanran had disregarded his objections and gone to the Xiao Family to forcibly annul the engagement several days ago, the smile on Nalan Jie's face slowly disappeared.

"When Yan Ran returns next time, I'll certainly teach her a proper lesson." Thinking of how Nalan Yanran had been hiding in the Misty Cloud Sect and did not dare return home after annulling the engagement, a trace of anger appeared on Nalan Jie's face.

At that moment, Nalan Jie frowned, and a pained expression appeared on his face.

A faint gray-black hue flickered across Nalan Jie's face.

"Damn it, it's acting up again!"

Nalan Jie hurriedly circulated his Dou Qi to suppress it, and only then did the gray-black color on his face slowly fade.

"This Scorched Poison is getting worse and worse. I wonder how much longer I can hold on."

Feeling the condition within his body, a trace of painful recollection flashed across Nalan Jie's face.

Four years ago, he had fought a Fifth-tier magical beast, the Scorched Iron Poison Seal Python, which possessed terrifying venom. Though he had ultimately killed it, it had nevertheless injected into his body a toxin that inspired dread in all who heard of it: Scorched Poison.

After consulting the records on the potency of this toxin, Nalan Jie's expression had immediately turned grim.

The records contained no shortage of Sixth-tier magical beasts that had been poisoned to death by Scorched Iron Poison Seal Pythons despite being of a higher tier. If their numbers had not been so few as to be practically negligible, many powerful experts across the continent would likely turn pale at the mention of this toxin.

Over the years, he had continuously suppressed the toxin with his powerful Dou Qi. However, as he aged, the toxin's backlash only grew stronger and stronger.

Nalan Jie had a premonition that before long, the Scorched Poison in his body would erupt completely.

End of Chapter