Auction (Seeking Follow-up!)

But not being mentioned did not mean it had vanished.

Gu You understood that whether it was Ye Zhi, the Pagoda King from the original work, or the title of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda as the continent's number one support martial soul never being replaced, all of it hinted at the existence of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect—and at the depth of its foundations.

He was growing more and more interested in this world. Things he had never seen in the original work before would now appear before his eyes.

The real world was bound to be different from a novel, but that only made him look forward to it more.

The world was vast, and nothing was too strange to exist.

If everything were the same as the original story, that would be boring.

The soul-guided sports car stopped.

Gu You got out. They had arrived at the Tiandou Auction House.

Not far away, a platinum-colored building stood there. It only had three floors, but it covered an enormous area.

At the main entrance, a long red carpet stretched all the way out.

"This is the Tiandou Auction House?"

Gu You had thought he would see a resplendent, gold-and-jade building. He had not expected it to look so ordinary.

"Don't be fooled by its appearance." Bai Haoze waved a hand, and an attendant in a black formal suit immediately ran out of the auction house, started up the soul-guided sports car, and drove it toward a private parking space. "The Tiandou Auction House used to be the Tiandou Royal Auction House. It's an antique among antiques. Knock off a single brick and you'd have to pay several million."

Gu You understood. Fair enough. Antiques were valuable. Even if the exterior were inlaid with gold and diamonds, its worth still could not compare to historical significance.

The two of them followed the red carpet closer. At the main entrance stood two welcoming maids in black tailcoats.

"Honored guests, please present your proof of identity."

One of the maids spoke first, her smile proper and her bearing neither servile nor arrogant.

Bai Haoze handed over a business card. The maid took it, then soon returned it respectfully.

"Please come inside, both of you. There is no need for asset verification. Please follow me."

After she said that, she turned and walked into the Tiandou Auction House.

They followed. The maid passed through a corridor and entered the auction venue area.

But the actual auction had not yet begun, so the maid did not lead Gu You and Bai Haoze to their seats.

Instead, she brought them to a VIP room on the second floor of the auction venue and let them rest there.

"Before the auction begins, service staff will come to escort you down to your seats. You may rest here. If you need anything, you can press the bell to call the staff." After saying this, the maid left the VIP room.

Once the maid was gone, Gu You looked around the VIP room. There were sofas in the room, along with a simple, antique wooden table. In the middle of the table was a button, probably used to call service staff.

Several valuable calligraphy and paintings hung on the surrounding walls. They looked quite old.

"They're all antiques. This place really has money." Gu You examined the calligraphy and paintings on the wall. Although he did not know much about antiques, anyone with eyes could tell.

And even if he could not tell, he could hardly say that things in the Tiandou Auction House were fake, could he?

"Of course it has money. These things aren't something ordinary people can get their hands on. Meditate here and wait until evening."

Bai Haoze snorted coldly when he said the first sentence, then finished speaking and began meditating and cultivating on his own.

Gu You heard the implication in his words. Was Bai Haoze saying that the origins of these antiques in the Tiandou Auction House were not clean?

He rubbed his chin, sat down on the sofa, closed his eyes to rest, and began meditating and cultivating.

After an unknown amount of time, the door to the VIP room was gently opened.

"Honored guests, the auction is about to begin. Please follow me to the venue. These are your masks. You may put them on to conceal your identities."

A female attendant in a qipao stood respectfully at the door, her voice waking Gu You and Bai Haoze.

Gu You opened his eyes and saw the female attendant. She held a wooden tray in both hands, on which lay two patterned masks that only exposed the eyes.

Bai Haoze went over, took a mask, and put it on, then handed the other one to Gu You.

Gu You glanced at it and put it on without hesitation, leaving only a pair of Golden Pupils exposed.

After putting on their masks, they followed the service staff out of the VIP room, went downstairs, and returned to the auction venue area.

By now, it was already evening. The lights in the auction venue shone brightly, and the place was packed with people. It seemed everyone who was supposed to come had arrived.

The female attendant brought the two of them to two front-row seats near the center of the auction venue. Directly ahead was the display stage, on which stood a screen showing the words: "Tiandou Auction House Commemorative Auction About to Begin."

"May I ask if you two require any other services?"

After they sat down, the female attendant asked.

"No need to trouble yourself for now. We'll simply wait for the auction to begin."

Bai Haoze spoke and politely declined.

The female attendant tactfully left, and Gu You's attention turned to the display stage.

Dong—

At the same time, a clear chime rang beside his ears. The auction had officially begun!

The lights on the display platform suddenly flared to life, and a middle-aged man walked out, slowly stepping onto the stage with a smile on his face.

"Welcome, honored guests." His voice spread throughout the venue through an amplifying Soul Guidance Device. "I am the host of this auction, Xu Mingzhi, president of the Qianxing Chamber of Commerce."

A burst of polite applause rose from below the stage.

Xu Mingzhi nodded slightly and continued, "This auction has a total of forty-seven lots, covering Soul Guidance Devices, rare metals, soul beast materials, ancient books, antiques, and more—even including rare soul bones. The auction rules are the same as before: the highest bidder wins. If anyone maliciously drives up prices and disrupts order, Tiandou Auction House will permanently revoke their eligibility to participate in any of its auctions."

His gaze swept across the venue, silently warning certain people.

"Then, this auction officially begins now!"

As Xu Mingzhi's words fell, a display case rose from the center of the platform. Inside lay a pendant that was entirely greenish-blue.

"The first lot is the level-five defensive Soul Guidance Device, Sigh of the Wind. It is a Soul Guidance Device with a long history, discovered by the seller in a certain secret realm. It comes with the Wind Screen skill. If sufficiently charged with soul power, it can block a full-power strike from a Soul Emperor, making it suitable for assault-type and agility-attack-type soul masters. Starting price: five million Federal Coins. Each bid increase must be no less than one hundred thousand!"

"Interested?"

Bai Haoze looked at Gu You. As long as Gu You gave the order, no matter how much it cost, they would definitely take Sigh of the Wind.

Gu You shook his head. He was not very interested in level-five Soul Guidance Devices.

But people in the venue quickly began bidding, and in the end, Sigh of the Wind sold for six million eight hundred thousand Federal Coins.

Most of the next dozen or so lots were Soul Guidance Devices and rare materials. Although their quality was decent, Gu You never made a move.

He wanted to see the final few centerpiece auction items. If possible, he would buy them all.

But he figured it would be pretty difficult. The first item alone started at five million; later ones would start in the tens of millions, and buying even one would cost at least several tens of millions. No matter how rich he was, burning money like that would still bankrupt him.

"The twenty-third lot: a complete pelt from a ten-thousand-year soul beast, the Purple Spirit Wolf!"

Another display case rose on the platform.

Inside, a beast hide glowing with faint purple light was revealed.

"The Purple Spirit Wolf's pelt is not only tough, but can also grant immunity to spiritual attacks. Starting price: ten million Federal Coins! Each bid increase must be no less than five hundred thousand."