Profound Heaven Auction House

Biodata

Organization and Locations

The Gu Lineage’s auction-house network and Gu Fan’s Linnan Street establishment share a name but are distinct businesses. Gu Fan adopted the name after his request to manage the existing Yanshan Commandery City branch was rejected 26 29.

Business Practices

Schedules and Commission

• Commission income: Before the Guangyang reforms, commissions accounted for 70% of the branch’s income. Zhu Huai warned that charging only 1% would leave it unable to cover expenses 9 10.
• Consignors: Mercenary groups and adventurers were important suppliers, particularly those obtaining treasures from the Black Forest 9 39.
• Mundane goods: Gu Fan accepted ordinary objects, including a newly forged iron sword. Rumors that mundane goods could sell for spirit stones brought numerous low-value consignments to Guangyang 11 12.
• Finale treasures: During Guangyang’s daily-auction period, the usual format became ten lots followed by an eleventh, second-tier finale. The ninth auction instead ended with the Spirit Heart Lotus as its tenth lot 20 23.

Auction Return System

Gu Fan’s personal Auction Ten-Thousandfold Return System makes successful auctions a source of treasures for his cultivation and for later sale 2 9.

• Grants Gu Fan a more valuable treasure after a designated auction item sells, with a maximum return of ten thousandfold 2.
• Applies to ten designated items per auction, once per day 2.
• Guarantees a ten-thousandfold return on his first auctioned item 2.
• Does not allow returned items to generate further multiplied returns 2.
• Rejects attempts to bulk-purchase ordinary objects merely to fill auction slots, although genuinely consigned mundane goods can produce rewards 3 15.
• Allows Gu Fan to prioritize successful sales over the value of individual lots; he then uses selected returned treasures to raise the auction house’s reputation 41.

History

Gu Fan’s Appointment in Guangyang

The Gu Lineage elders sent Gu Fan to Guangyang City under the stated purpose of managing its auction house, while actually expecting him to die there. He arrived with Uncle Fu and activated the Auction Return System 2.

Rather than wait twenty-three days for the next scheduled auction, Gu Fan ordered Zhu Huai to prepare one immediately. The staff gathered only four items, including a rusty ordinary saber; Gu Fan supplied a first-tier high-grade Four Symbols Pill to bring the initial total to five. Invitations emphasized his royal-capital origins and attracted most of Guangyang’s leading figures 2 3 6.

The low-quality offerings drew ridicule and alarmed Zhu Huai. The auction’s fortunes changed when the second-tier low-grade Scarlet Flame Saber appeared as an additional lot. The city lord purchased it for 30,000 low-grade spirit stones, after which Gu Fan announced daily auctions and a 1% commission 6 8 9.

Daily Auctions and Regional Influence

The second auction drew a larger crowd, but its many mundane lots again prompted guests to leave. Its finale, the Black Baleful Intent Snake, brought spectators back and triggered fierce competition. An attempted robbery failed; Gu Fan revealed that the snake had killed three Spirit Sea Realm cultivators before handing it to Lineage Head Miao 12 15 17 19.

Six further auctions attracted prominent Guangyang figures and visitors from the Black Forest. The regular appearance of second-tier finales transformed the branch into a source of opportunities that could alter local power balances. The Liu Lineage lost its place among the city’s three great lineages, while another lineage rose after one of its members reached the Spirit Sea Realm using an auction purchase 20 22.

The influx of treasures also generated rumors that ruins had opened nearby. By the ninth auction, the surrounding street was crowded with vendors and visitors. Gu Fan announced that he would leave Guangyang, restored monthly auctions and the 5% commission, and concluded with the Spirit Heart Lotus 22 23.

Establishment on Linnan Street

Gu Fan requested control of the Profound Heaven branch in Yanshan Commandery City, but the royal capital rejected him. He asked that a replacement auction master be appointed in Guangyang and departed to establish his own business 24 26.

In Yanshan, he purchased the Heavenly Tiger Auction House on remote Linnan Street and renamed it Profound Heaven Auction House. The purchase included an operational staff, appraisers, auctioneers, and an existing supply of consignments. His use of the Gu Lineage’s auction-house name angered Yang Zong and the lineage elders, but the elders ordered Yang Zong to wait rather than intervene 29 30.

Gu Fan advertised second-tier treasures through citywide flyers. Many readers assumed the advertisements referred to the famous Vermilion Bird Street branch and went there instead. After Yang Zong’s guards redirected them, enough guests reached Linnan Street to fill the hall and aisles 30 31.

Rise in Yanshan Commandery City

The auction of the second-tier supreme-grade Eighteen Hands of Subduing the Tiger brought the Linnan Street house to the attention of the five great lineages, the Commandery Prince’s Estate, and rival auction houses. Gu Fan introduced the same daily schedule and 1% commission used in Guangyang 35 36.

Anticipating larger crowds, he ordered an expansion. By the second auction, his establishment was the largest auction house in Yanshan Commandery City. Several important guests nevertheless left when the early offerings failed to meet their expectations; the Song Lineage remained and secured the finale, the Four Directions Ghost Saber, whose sale earned Gu Fan three million low-grade spirit stones 37 38 41 43 44.

By the third auction, the house’s reputation was described as surpassing Yanshan’s three established great auction houses. City guards were deployed to control the crowds, while the opening Soul-Chasing Bow lot quickly drew bids exceeding 1.2 million low-grade spirit stones. At the end of the supplied account, the audience was awaiting the eleventh and final item 45 46 48.

Premises and Facilities

Notable Auction Lots

Personnel and Relationships

Key Personnel

• Gu Fan — Auction master in Guangyang and owner of the Linnan Street establishment; supplies major finale treasures and determines auction policy 9 29 43.
• Zhu Huai — Guangyang steward responsible for preparations and consignments; repeatedly warns Gu Fan about reputational damage and operating losses 2 6 10 11.
• Xiang Yin — Auctioneer for Gu Fan’s Guangyang auctions 4 22.
• Feng Xu — Steward retained after the Heavenly Tiger purchase; manages preparations, staff, and the enlarged Linnan Street crowds 30 37 39.
• Bu Yi — Auctioneer at the Linnan Street establishment 31 39 46.
• Yang Zong — Master of the original Yanshan branch and a business rival of Gu Fan’s same-name establishment 31 38.

Patrons and Adversaries

• Gu Lineage — Controls the original network. Its elders reject Gu Fan’s transfer request and later order surveillance of his successful independent business 2 26 36.
• Guangyang’s rival auction masters — Oppose the reduced commission and participate in the failed robbery plot involving the Black Baleful Intent Snake 9 19.
• Lineage Head Miao — Frequent Guangyang patron whose acquisition of the snake makes him the city’s strongest figure 19.
• Commander Mad Wolf — Consigns the Spirit Heart Lotus after Gu Fan refuses his request for protection from the Shattered Star Sect 22.
• Song Lineage — Purchases the Four Directions Ghost Saber after remaining through the second Linnan Street auction 41 44.
• Yan Nantian — Plans to use the Venomous Snake Den and two Yan elders against the Linnan Street auction house rather than rob it openly 44.
• Shattered Star Sect — Investigates the Spirit Heart Lotus, questions Zhu Huai, and pursues Gu Fan to Yanshan Commandery City 33 44.