Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone

At dusk, the lights of Shrek City began to glow.

By the time Gu Mingyuan reached the Treasure Pavilion, Cao Jinxuan and Zhou Sichen were already waiting outside.

The Treasure Pavilion stood over twenty meters tall, its exterior gleaming with gold. In the night, it resembled an enormous treasure bowl brimming with rare treasures. Four tall girls in long dresses stood on either side of the entrance, welcoming and seeing off guests.

Before the three had even reached the door, one of the greeters approached them. "Are you three soul masters here for the Treasure Appreciation Auction?"

Cao Jinxuan and Zhou Sichen presented their red invitations in turn. Gu Mingyuan handed over his last. His was black with gold lettering, and an extra crimson-gold pattern at the lower right marked him as a top-tier guest.

The girl's gaze swept over the crimson-gold pattern, and her smile immediately grew more respectful. She stepped aside and bowed her head slightly. "Honored guests, please follow me."

Inside the Treasure Pavilion's first floor, the first thing they saw was a golden passage formed by two rows of greeters. As the three passed, the girls on either side bowed in perfect unison.

Zhou Sichen had never seen anything like it. His steps grew stiff, though he could not stop glancing around. Cao Jinxuan awkwardly pushed up his glasses.

The girl led them through the hall and up a golden staircase to the second floor.

Compared with the bustle below, the second floor was remarkably quiet. Clear crystal display cases stood throughout the hall in an orderly arrangement.

Pills, high-grade medicinal herbs, intricate Soul Tools, rare metals, and even Soul Bones that gave off fluctuations of Soul Power lay beneath the soft lights. Even when the core disciples browsing the displays spoke to one another, they instinctively lowered their voices.

"The assessment area is on the west side of the second floor," the greeter explained softly.

"Guests attending the Treasure Appreciation Auction for the first time must go there to have their rank, discount privileges, and credit limit assessed."

It was Cao Jinxuan's and Zhou Sichen's first visit, so they had to complete the assessment. The three parted for the moment, agreeing to meet in the center of the second floor afterward.

Gu Mingyuan did not browse. He crossed the hall and went straight to the largest crystal display case in the center.

A golden-red left arm bone floated quietly inside. Its five slender finger bones stretched slightly upward, their tips giving off a steady, pure, gentle golden-red glow.

An elegant information plaque stood beside the case:

[Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone]

[From a Ten-Thousand-Year Golden Earth Dragon King. Contains a pure but diluted light dragon bloodline. Its Soul Skill is highly likely to be attack-oriented.]

[Price: 9.5 million Gold Soul Coins.]

The attendant guarding the display case grew serious when Gu Mingyuan took out his red card.

"Mr. Gu, are you sure you want to use this year's free-item privilege to claim the Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone?" the attendant reminded him.

"Once it's registered and released, you won't be able to use your red card to claim anything else for free this year."

"I'm sure." Gu Mingyuan did not hesitate.

The Soul Bone's light attribute was not a good fit for him right now, and it was only a little over ten thousand years old.

But it was a Soul Bone worth nearly ten million. Taking it was better than leaving it here for someone else to benefit from.

The attendant was about to take his card and verify his privileges when a gentle, weathered voice sounded from behind him.

"No need to check. Release it under his red card privileges."

An elderly woman with white hair and a youthful face approached slowly, leaning on a cane. The Treasure Pavilion staff along her path stopped their work and bowed respectfully. "Pavilion Master."

Gu Mingyuan guessed who she was at once.

She was Elder Lin, an elder of the Sea God Pavilion and the true authority behind the Treasure Pavilion.

Elder Lin stopped before him. Her gaze rested on Gu Mingyuan for a moment, then shifted to the Soul Bone in the display case.

"Xuan Zi informed me in advance. There's no issue with any of your privileges here at the Treasure Pavilion," Elder Lin said calmly.

"Since you've chosen it, take it."

With that, she slowly walked away. Before leaving, she added in an unhurried tone, "Keep working hard, young man. The academy doesn't like seeing its resources go to waste."

Gu Mingyuan bowed slightly. "Thank you for the advice, Elder Lin."

After Elder Lin left, the attendant immediately sealed off the display case, carefully removed the Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone, and placed it in a specially made pouch that blocked its Soul Power aura. The attendant then completed the transfer registration.

Gu Mingyuan put the pouch away and headed toward the miscellaneous materials section on the left.

He stopped before the third display. On it lay a dull black crystal with a rough, uneven surface. If it had not been in the Treasure Pavilion, it would have looked like a charred stone picked up from the roadside.

The plaque's description was simple: [Weathered and degraded thousand-year Whale Rubber. Price: 6,000 Gold Soul Coins.]

This was the rare ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber from the original story.

Gu Mingyuan paid with his card. At the thirty-percent price granted by his red card, it cost him only 1,800 Gold Soul Coins.

After putting the Whale Rubber away, Gu Mingyuan asked quietly within his Sea of Spirit, "Elder Yi, is there anything here that could help you recover?"

A hidden wisp of gray divine consciousness spread out, sensing the faint auras drifting through the hall.

A moment later, Electrolux's voice sounded in his mind and guided him toward a corner near the medicinal herbs section.

An unremarkable gray wooden box sat there.

Inside lay a pale piece of wood heart the size of a palm. Its growth rings formed peculiar patterns like ripples of spirit.

[Soul-Nourishing Wood Heart]

[Produced by the rare Soul-Nourishing Ancient Tree. Can nurture the Sea of Spirit and help repair damage to the soul.]

[Listed price: 1 million Gold Soul Coins.]

After the thirty-percent discount, it came to exactly 300,000.

"I wouldn't call it a heaven-defying treasure," Electrolux said.

"But its properties are mild and won't conflict with the effects of the Nether God Grass you took before. For this weakened wisp of my divine consciousness, it will indeed be of some use."

Gu Mingyuan said nothing more and bought the wood heart.

Before long, Cao Jinxuan and Zhou Sichen finished their assessments and hurried over with purple guest cards, brimming with excitement. Each had received a credit limit of 100,000.

Gu Mingyuan took them to the cultivation-aiding medicines section.

Cao Jinxuan chose a Mind-Concentrating Potion that could nurture his spiritual power and ease the burden of his time-attribute Soul Skills. Zhou Sichen picked an Essence-Stabilizing Potion that could significantly extend the time his Summoned Creatures remained on the field.

With the other materials added in, 100,000 seemed like a lot, but it did not go far in the Treasure Pavilion. After the two exhausted their credit limits, Gu Mingyuan put in another 100,000 before they could buy everything.

Holding his box of medicine, Zhou Sichen shed his usual cheeky grin for once and said earnestly, "Brother Gu, I'm borrowing this money from you. I'll definitely pay you back."

Cao Jinxuan nodded solemnly. "Put my share on the tab too."