One Hundred Thousand Taels

"What? A single Gate-Breaking Pill costs at least three thousand taels?!" Jiang Yuan felt his breath catch, speechless for a long while.

Why not just rob people outright?

"This is only an ordinary-quality Gate-Breaking Pill. Better-quality ones, like the Gate-Breaking Pills in our escort agency, often sell for nearly ten thousand taels. Even defective ones cost close to a thousand taels," Li Quan said as though it were only natural.

What was a Gate-Breaking Pill? It was something needed to break through the Heavenly Gate! Once one reached the Internal Force Realm, it was like a fish leaping through the dragon gate—one would no longer be an ordinary person.

Jiang Yuan touched the banknotes in his robes, an inscrutable expression appearing on his face.

"Brother Li, are there any Blood Force Grandmasters overseeing this place?"

Jiang Yuan glanced at the Internal Force cultivation manuals that were still being deduced and asked without changing expression.

"Blood Force Grandmasters? How could there be? Those important figures wouldn't care about this sort of thing. Let alone Blood Force experts, even Internal Force experts at the Visceral Strength level are rare," Li Quan replied.

Visceral Strength was the third realm of Internal Force.

Body Completion, Bone Strength, Visceral Strength.

These were the three major realms within the Internal Force Realm, and the gap between each was immense.

So long as no Blood Force expert appeared, Visceral Strength was the strongest.

Jiang Yuan nodded. "That's good."

"Mm." Li Quan failed to notice the dangerous gleam flickering in Jiang Yuan's eyes behind him.

The two walked farther inside. What looked like an utterly ordinary cellar concealed a whole other world.

Below lay an enormous underground hall.

A black-robed attendant suddenly appeared, bowing respectfully to them with two sets of black robes held in his hands.

"These are for concealing your identities," Li Quan explained. The two of them put on the black robes.

This auction felt somewhat oppressive. Everyone below was shrouded in black robes.

Only a few people showed their faces, seemingly unafraid of others learning their identities.

"That's Gai Tianwang. His reputation is quite resounding, though he's just a bandit. His strength is decent—he's reached Hua Jin - Body Completion—but his name stinks..."

"That's Madam Li. They say she was the wife of some family. No one knows why, but one day she wiped out the entire family and used its resources to pile herself up to Hua Jin - Body Completion. She's ruthless when she acts..."

"That's an offering of the Chu family. I didn't expect him to come here too. Could it be that the Chu family has run out of Gate-Breaking Pills? Hm? Who's that woman leaning beside him?"

"Damn, Blood Butcher Cai Lin. He's wanted by the City Yamen, yet he still dares show up here. How confident is he?"

"That's Elder Mr. Huang, Thousand Hong One Sword, a Rogue Cultivator. I heard that his last disciple has reached the Qi and Blood Peak..."

"That's Li Da, Sea Wind Fist. Half-righteous and half-evil, he's also at Hua Jin - Body Completion."

Li Quan introduced the seven or eight people who had revealed their appearances one by one. This made Jiang Yuan look at Li Quan anew; he had not expected Li Quan to know so much.

"They're all people you don't want to provoke. If these people have their eyes on the Gate-Breaking Pills, we'll probably have to bleed money. Brother Jiang, how much silver did you bring? Is it enough? Why don't we wait until after we finish this escort job and earn some Special Merit Points, then exchange for one at the escort agency?"

Jiang Yuan silently committed these people to memory, then covertly looked toward several guards standing nearby.

They appeared to be Late Qi and Blood Stage martial artists.

In reality, Jiang Yuan could tell that seven or eight of them were Internal Force experts.

Among them were two experts whose auras far surpassed ordinary people's, seemingly at the Bone Strength level.

Jiang Yuan nodded, followed Li Quan's suggestion, and left the place.

The auction had no rule that said one could not leave after arriving. For a Black Market auction to be held in Haiyuan City, where so many forces were gathered, it was impossible for the Black Market auction to have no backing.

Naturally, they were not afraid of troublemakers, so there were no restrictions on leaving early either.

*

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*

Inside the escort agency.

"Wenzhao has been injured. His condition is not good—he's about to lose control."

Beichuan Wan sat cross-legged with her longsword across her knees. At the sound by her ear, she froze.

Looking ahead, she saw a graceful woman standing before her with a sword cradled in her arms.

Apart from white, her robes held not a trace of any other color. A white veil covered her face, while her long hair was pinned up with a wooden hairpin. Though plainly dressed, she possessed an otherworldly yet sharp presence.

"Lord Wen is injured?! Then what about my father?" Beichuan Wan was startled and hurriedly asked.

The woman shook her head. "I don't know. But you should come with me. Something has entered Haiyuan City."

"Senior Sister? But..."

"I just saw Wenzhao. He agreed. As for your father, Wenzhao didn't say... perhaps..." Senior Sister spoke calmly, without the slightest fluctuation in emotion.

But Beichuan Wan's expression stiffened. She said in disbelief, "How is that possible! Father, he... he's clearly a powerful Blood Force Grandmaster!"

"So what if he is Blood Force? Blood Force practitioners are not gods. Junior Sister, come with me. There is nothing you can do by staying here now. Return to the sect with me! Once you have grown stronger, you can go look for your father as well. And if your father is still alive, I have already given Wenzhao a token. Your father can come find you then."

"I..."

"Alright... Senior Sister, I'll go with you... but wait for me a moment..."

*

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*

"Very good, congratulations to No. 83 for winning the Pear Blossom Storm. Next auction item!"

"The next item is the Gate-Breaking Pill. Our appraisal has determined that among these five Gate-Breaking Pills, two are top-grade, two are mid-grade, and one is defective."

"Per the seller's request, all five will be sold together. Starting price... twenty thousand taels!"

Deep underground, an auction was in full swing.

More than a hundred people had come. Upon hearing the words Gate-Breaking Pill, over half of them instantly raised their heads, their gazes burning as they stared at the box in the auctioneer's hand.

But after hearing the auctioneer's words, someone immediately shouted in anger, "What? Sold together? Are you kidding me? What the hell do I need so many Gate-Breaking Pills for? I object!"

"Exactly!"

Others echoed him, while even more remained silent and watched coldly.

"Heh, must be a rookie. Doesn't he know the rules of an auction?"

"He's done for."

The next second, a figure appeared before the man who had been shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Y-you-you... what are you trying to do?" Seeing the figure suddenly appear before him, the face beneath the black robe changed slightly, though he still forced himself to ask calmly.

The next second, an invisible force struck his body.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, then flew backward and smashed into the wall to one side.

His body tumbled like a rag doll before falling still, dead or alive unknown.

Someone shook their head. Still too young...

"Since they're being auctioned together, Brother Li, we..."

"We can join forces."

"Heh, just five Gate-Breaking Pills. I'll swallow them all!" Gai Tianwang grinned arrogantly.

"Little Hu, don't choke to death," Madam Li laughed sweetly from the side.

"Hmph, no matter who wins the Gate-Breaking Pills, this old man will definitely take one today!" Old Mr. Huang declared. Though his hair was snow-white, his build remained as strong as ever.

"Brother Ye, I want one too~"

"Alright, I'll buy you one." The woman beside the Chu Family Enshrined Master spoke coquettishly, and he answered indulgently.

"Starting at twenty thousand taels! Begin!"

"Twenty-five thousand!"

"What's the point of bidding so little? Thirty thousand!"

"Thirty-two thousand taels!"

"Thirty-five thousand!"

"Thirty-seven thousand taels!"

"Forty thousand!"

"Forty-five thousand taels!"

"You! Fine, you win!"

After a round of bidding, the price seemed to have settled at forty-five thousand taels.

Then someone in the audience suddenly raised a hand and said blandly, "One hundred thousand taels."