Incomplete Map

The plump shopkeeper was just about to bring down the hammer.

"Ten thousand." A soft, effeminate voice came from behind the curtain.

Everyone was taken aback. They had not expected the person behind the curtain to bid on such an inconspicuous compass.

Lu Chen's gaze sharpened. Had the person behind the curtain finally been unable to hold back?

"Twelve thousand." Lu Chen raised the bid calmly.

"Fifteen thousand." The effeminate voice rang out again, utterly devoid of emotion.

"Twenty thousand." Lu Chen refused to yield.

Soft gasps sounded through the hall. Twenty thousand mid-grade spirit stones was already a sky-high price for a damaged ancient object of unknown use.

Silence fell behind the curtain for a moment.

Just as the plump shopkeeper thought the other party had given up, that effeminate voice sounded again, carrying a trace of barely perceptible chill. "Twenty-five thousand."

A cold smile touched Lu Chen's lips. Sure enough, the other party was targeting him—or rather, targeting any clue that might prove useful for the Return to Ruins Secret Realm.

"Thirty thousand." Lu Chen raised the price again, his tone calm yet carrying an air of absolute determination.

This time, silence completely descended behind the curtain.

"Thirty thousand, first call... thirty thousand, second call... thirty thousand, third call! Sold!" The plump shopkeeper brought down the hammer, his face blooming with delight. He had acquired this compass for only a few hundred spirit stones, then sold it for thirty thousand. A bloody fortune!

Very soon, a maid delivered the Bronze Compass to Lu Chen. Lu Chen readily paid the spirit stones—resources were what he lacked least now.

The compass felt heavy and icy in his hand.

Lu Chen sent his divine sense into it and, as expected, sensed a thread of exceedingly faint spatial Dao resonance, nearly dispersed,