Black Mark Auction House

Lu Xia put away the map and turned to look at Qinglin beside him.

After all the travel, the young girl's face was full of exhaustion.

Although her strength had soared after awakening the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, her foundation was still weak. After traveling continuously for so long, she truly could not keep it up much longer.

Lu Xia's heart stirred, and he said,

"Let's rest in Black Mark City for two days first."

"We can also take a look at the famous Black Mark Auction House here."

Qinglin immediately breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that.

She lifted her little face and revealed a brilliant smile.

"Okay!"

"I've never attended an auction before!"

Lu Xia then looked at Medusa beside him.

"What do you think?"

Medusa gave him an indifferent glance, her tone calm.

"I have no objections."

"We're already in the Black-Corner Region anyway. The Heavenly Flames aren't so urgent that they can't wait another day or two."

Seeing that neither woman objected, Lu Xia took them to an inn that looked fairly decent.

He rented three rooms, and they settled in separately.

Night gradually deepened.

Black Mark City was even livelier at night than during the day.

The lights blazed brightly, and the streets were packed with voices.

Lu Xia led the two women toward the city's most prosperous district.

The Black Mark Auction House was located there.

The auction house was an enormous building, imposing and magnificent.

People streamed in and out of its entrance without end.

Most of those who could attend an auction here had some wealth to their names.

Lu Xia and the two women paid the entrance fee and entered without issue.

The auction house was packed, with hundreds of people seated closely together.

At the center stood a circular auction platform, where a smiling auctioneer stood.

Around it were tiers of private rooms reserved for prominent figures.

Lu Xia and the others had arrived late, so they could only find three seats in the ordinary section.

"So many people..."

Qinglin muttered softly, curiously looking around.

It was her first time entering an auction house, and everything seemed novel to her.

It was also Lu Xia's first time witnessing such a scene, and he found it rather interesting as well.

He swept his gaze around, lingering briefly on those private rooms.

"Everyone, welcome to tonight's Black Mark Auction!"

On the stage, the auctioneer spoke with a beaming smile.

"Without further ado, our first item begins now!"

With the auctioneer's announcement, the auction officially began.

One item after another was brought onto the stage.

There were fine weapons, high-grade pills, and rare mineral materials.

Unfortunately, none of these things amounted to much in Lu Xia's eyes.

He was now a Two-Star Dou Zong, so his standards had naturally risen considerably.

Ordinary Yellow-tier and Xuan-tier techniques and pills could not catch his eye at all.

Qinglin, however, watched with great interest.

As for Medusa, she simply leaned back in her chair expressionlessly.

She had seen plenty of auctions of this level and was not surprised in the least.

Halfway through the auction, the auctioneer loudly announced the next item.

"Next, we have two thousand-year-old poison-attributed spiritual herbs: Netherworld Flowers!"

"Their medicinal properties are tyrannical, making them excellent materials for refining high-grade poison pills. The starting bid is ten thousand gold coins!"

On the stage, a maid carried up a jade tray.

Upon it, two flowers as black as ink bloomed silently, wisps of black vapor curling around their petals.

Lu Xia's gaze sharpened slightly. Netherworld Flowers?

Those were good things.

Although he was exceptionally talented, the more rare spiritual herbs he had for cultivating the poison path, the better.

"Twenty thousand."

Lu Xia raised his bidding paddle unhurriedly.

A few scattered people in the hall bid, but the price did not rise too high.

After all, poison-attributed spiritual herbs had a limited market, and most people had no use for them.

After several rounds of bidding, Lu Xia ultimately secured them for thirty thousand gold coins.

"Brother Xia is amazing!"

Qinglin turned her head, blinked at Lu Xia, and looked at him with pure admiration.

The auction continued.

The later items were unremarkable, and Lu Xia had little interest in them.

More than an hour passed.

At last, the nighttime auction came to an end.

The three followed the crowd out of the auction house.

"That's it? It didn't seem all that special."

Qinglin was still not fully satisfied. She had thought auctions would be far more magical.

"This was only an ordinary session."

Lu Xia explained with a smile.

"A truly large-scale Black Mark Auction is only held once every so often."

"That's when the genuinely good items appear."

Qinglin nodded, seeming to understand.

Medusa walked beside them, her expression unchanged from beginning to end.

The three made their way back to the inn.

They returned to their rooms to rest.

After returning to his room, Lu Xia did not sleep.

He sat cross-legged on the bed and began circulating the Nine Revolutions Poison Art.

The two Netherworld Flowers he had bought at the auction today were perfect for refining and absorbing.

The Netherworld Flower's poison was cold and sinister, complementing the poison Dou Qi within his body perfectly.

Lu Xia took out one Netherworld Flower and placed it in his palm.

The Green Lotus Core Flame silently rose and enveloped the flower.

The jade-green flame slowly scorched it, extracting the flower's essence.

The pure poison flowed through his meridians and gradually merged into his limbs and bones.

Lu Xia closed his eyes and concentrated, devoting himself entirely to cultivation.

Time passed second by second.

He became completely immersed in cultivation, forgetting all else.

The Dou Qi within his body slowly grew under the nourishment of the poison.

Before he knew it, an entire night had passed.

The next day, the sun was already high in the sky.

Qinglin rose early, washed up, and sat in the inn's main hall waiting.

But no matter how long she waited, Lu Xia did not emerge from his room.

At first, she thought Brother Xia had simply slept late, but by noon, there was still no movement.

Qinglin began to grow restless.

She ran to Lu Xia's door and pressed her ear against it. The room was utterly silent, without the slightest sound.

"Brother Xia... nothing happened to him, did it?"

Qinglin's face was full of worry.

She wanted to knock, but she was afraid of disturbing Lu Xia.

After hesitating for a long while, she finally turned and ran to find Medusa.

"Sister Medusa! Sister Medusa!"

Qinglin hurriedly pushed open Medusa's door, her face full of anxiety.

"What is it? Why are you so flustered?"

Medusa was sitting by the window drinking tea. Seeing her like this, she raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Brother Xia... he hasn't come out of his room all day!"

Qinglin's eyes reddened with worry.

"Could something have happened to him?"

Hearing this, Medusa set down her teacup.

She closed her eyes and spread out her perception slightly, probing the room next door.

A moment later, she opened her eyes again, her expression calm.

"What are you panicking for?"

"He has merely entered a state of deep cultivation."

"It's nothing. Once he finishes cultivating, he'll naturally come out."

"R-Really, he's okay?"

Qinglin was still uneasy and asked softly for confirmation.

"Don't worry. He's perfectly fine."

Medusa gave her an indifferent glance, her tone calm.

"Would I lie to you?"

Hearing that, Qinglin's anxious heart finally settled somewhat.

Yet there was still a trace of worry between her brows.

She obediently sat to the side and waited quietly.