At the foot of the mountain range, a vast city built from enormous black stones emerged faintly into view. At the four gates, countless tiny black dots could be seen converging like ants, streaming into the city's huge, gaping maw of darkness.
"Heh, Xiao Li, you're in luck. You've arrived just in time for Black Seal City's annual auction. Want to broaden your horizons?"
Elder Qian stood beside Xiao Li. Spending all day cooped up in the interspatial layer was dull, so Elder Qian was now acting as Xiao Li's guardian while he traveled abroad. That had always been the case, of course; now it was simply out in the open.
"When we've run into an event like this, of course I want to take a look." Xiao Li clasped his hands behind his back. In the Black-Corner Region, danger and opportunity naturally went hand in hand.
"Do you have any money?" Elder Qian's question brought Xiao Li back down to earth.
Xiao Li turned his head stiffly. "Uh, haha, that's what I have you two elders for."
"Hmph, this old man doesn't have much money." Elder Qian snorted, though a trace of amusement glimmered in his eyes. He had already decided to help Xiao Li hunt for some useful items.
A dozen minutes later, Xiao Li neared the pitch-black city gate. He slowed down, joined the queue, and waited quietly for his turn to enter.
Standing before the immense black city wall, Xiao Li glanced at the three characters "Black Seal City" above the center of the gate. His gaze drifted down and settled on a dozen men in black outfits at the entrance. They seemed much like the soldiers guarding city gates elsewhere, except here, anyone entering had to pay them a hefty fee.
Just imagine: if this sort of entrance fee were imposed in a place like the Jia Ma Empire, it would probably spark an outright riot. Yet in the Black-Corner Region, it seemed to be perfectly ordinary.
The queue moved slowly. After waiting nearly half an hour, Xiao Li's turn finally came. He handed over a bag of gold coins at the gate and entered without a hitch.
He headed straight for the auction house. Unlike Xiao Yan, Xiao Li couldn't refine pills to lift himself out of poverty. But...
Eyeing the wicked men along the roadside, Xiao Li's gaze turned cold. There were constant brawls and bloody clashes here; on a street just a few hundred meters long, dozens of fights to the death had erupted in a short time.
After ruling out those settling personal grudges and those who looked innocent, and confirming that everyone else was killing for loot, Xiao Li got to work. His Thunder Scale Spear thrust and swept through the crowd, and in the blink of an eye, he had killed several men.
He plucked the purses from their bodies and glanced inside.
Seven men had netted him around ten thousand gold coins, doubling his wealth outright.
Xiao Li wasn't particularly interested in money, and he didn't need to prepare pills for Heavenly Flames like Xiao Yan did, so he hadn't bothered to save any before. It wasn't until he came across this auction that he realized how strapped he was.
But... absorbing Heavenly Flames required pills to assist the process. Absorbing Strange Lightning probably did too. In any case, pills would surely improve his chances.
The thought flashed through Xiao Li's mind. It seemed he'd have to trouble Xiao Yan and Yao Lao in the future.
Especially Yao Lao. He was widely read and experienced; if Xiao Li really did find Strange Lightning, he would probably have to rely on Yao Lao to figure out what kind of pills were needed.
Looking at the crowds filling the street, Xiao Li licked his dry lips. In an instant, he vanished from the spot. Each person here was a walking fortune; letting even one get away would be a loss.
Ten minutes later, Xiao Li left the street with a satisfied ten thousand gold coins in his pocket. Behind him, more than a hundred bodies lay strewn across the road, along with several passersby frozen in shock.
"Sigh, a bunch of paupers. More than a hundred Dou Zhe and a few Dou Masters, and they only had ten thousand gold coins. At least they had some medicinal ingredients, weapons, and other odds and ends. I can sell those at the auction house later."
Elder Qian listened to Xiao Li mutter to himself and felt somewhat helpless. He shouldn't have reminded the boy about the true meaning of cultivation. He'd been afraid Xiao Li wouldn't know how to get by in the Black-Corner Region. Who could have guessed the boy would fit in so well?
The thing Elder Qian was most relieved about now was that Xiao Li wasn't very strong. If he were even a Dou Emperor or Dou Zong, he'd probably pluck every last hair off any dog that crossed his path in the Black-Corner Region.
At the far end of the crowded street, Xiao Li looked up at the enormous auction house before him and couldn't help letting out a gasp of astonishment.
The Mittel Family of the Jia Ma Empire probably couldn't hold a candle to this auction house known as "Black Seal."
Dozens of black-clad men stood at the entrance to the Black Seal Auction House. Their expressions were indifferent, sharp weapons hung at their waists, and their eagle-sharp gazes swept back and forth over the people coming and going.
From the auras faintly seeping out of these men, five of them were actually Dou Masters. The rest were at the peak of the Dou Zhe level.
Xiao Li tightened the loose black robe wrapped around him and lowered his head slightly. The shadow of his hood completely hid his face. In this chaotic place, he didn't think exposing himself carelessly was a particularly wise decision.
Following the flow of people, Xiao Li slowly entered the auction house. The vast space inside made him lose focus for a moment, but he quickly recovered and headed toward the center of the hall.
Huge screens hung all around the auction house, displaying a rolling list of countless items up for sale. Xiao Li skimmed through it, but didn't spot anything especially rare. The strange treasures had probably been kept under wraps as the auction's crowning lots, to preserve their mystery.
Of course, powerful factions could naturally learn about those hidden treasures through other channels.
His gaze swept over the surroundings and finally stopped at the doorway of a Treasure Appraisal Room. After a brief hesitation, Xiao Li walked inside.
As soon as he stepped into the so-called Treasure Appraisal Room, Xiao Li was surprised to find that the sizable space had been neatly divided into more than a hundred small chambers. They were probably meant to keep people from discovering what treasures were being appraised.
No sooner had Xiao Li entered than a scantily dressed serving girl came forward. Her sweet voice carried a seductive lilt. "Sir, are you here to have an item appraised, or to get a price estimate before putting it up for auction?"
"I'm here to sell something." Xiao Li deliberately made his voice slightly hoarse.
"Please follow me." The serving girl gave him a seductive smile and turned around, swaying her snake-like waist in an enticing arc. It seemed the serving girls here had all been specially trained to magnify their allure to men as much as possible.
With his gaze lowered into the shadow of his hood, Xiao Li paid no attention to the girl's swaying figure. In a place as chaotic as the Black-Corner Region, even a woman with no strength to defend herself could turn a person's world upside down. So Xiao Li dared not—and had no desire to—get involved with the women here.