The old man froze for a moment, then smiled. "This is a slave auction."
After a pause, he added, "Golden Treasure Pavilion holds special auctions like this from time to time. Sunset City lies in a lawless region, so this sort of business... has always been thriving."
Wang Xian nodded expressionlessly, though an inexplicable irritation flickered through his heart.
After completing the spirit stone transaction, he bade the old man farewell and returned to Golden Treasure Pavilion's auction hall along the dim corridor.
The moment he stepped inside, he sensed that the atmosphere was completely different from before.
Xiangxiang, the young woman who had conducted the previous auction, had already left. In her place stood a burly man in black.
The man was bare-chested, with a centipede-like scar running across his chest. His voice rumbled like muffled thunder, shaking dust loose from the ceiling.
Nearly twice as many guests filled the hall as before. Most were cultivators with fierce, fleshy faces, along with several merchants in brocade robes wearing sinister expressions.
Every one of them stood on benches, their eyes gleaming with a beast-like light.
Wang Xian stood in a corner, silently listening to the conversations around him.
"Five have already been sold, and each one was more exquisite than the last!" A sharp-faced cultivator nearby rubbed his hands as he excitedly spoke to his companion.
"The third one was something else. I heard she was a little girl at the Foundation Establishment stage, abducted from the Southern Frontier. Only fourteen..."
"Too bad we don't have enough spirit stones. We can only watch."
"Don't worry. I heard the grand finale is still to come!"
Wang Xian lowered his gaze, the irritation in his heart growing ever heavier.
He had intended to turn and leave, but his feet seemed nailed to