Treasure Gathering Pavilion

Since Yi Xuan was traveling with Fatty Lin, he didn't need to worry about anything. He only had to follow the arrangements.

After following Fatty Lin to the best inn in the capital and settling in, Yi Xuan was eagerly dragged out by him to tour the city.

As they strolled through the streets, Yi Xuan walked behind Fatty Lin, rubbing his backside.

More than ten days in the carriage had left Yi Xuan feeling miserable all over. Fatty Lin's carriage was indeed luxurious, but it was still a carriage.

To make the carriage more comfortable, Fatty Lin had many thick, soft cushions laid inside. Although they did absorb some of the shocks, the ride was still agony for Yi Xuan, who was used to the high-tech transportation of his previous life. His backside had nearly split open.

Walking ahead, Fatty Lin looked back and saw Yi Xuan still rubbing his backside. He laughed and said, "Brother Yi, I've met plenty of immortal cultivators, but this is the first time I've seen one as delicate as you. My carriage is already a very good one. Any other carriage would be even more murderous!"

Fatty Lin and Yi Xuan had known each other for years, and Yi Xuan had long since stopped minding his jokes about his weak spot. He simply glared at the fat man snickering ahead of him and said, "It's because your lousy carriage is no good!"

After saying that, Yi Xuan realized that the problem wasn't Fatty Lin's carriage, but that this world had no concept of shock absorption at all. He also began thinking about making something that would let him travel long distances in comfort after he returned.

After following Fatty Lin for a little while, he arrived at the entrance to a building that appeared to be seven or eight stories tall. Three large characters were written above it: Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

"Treasure Gathering Pavilion? What kind of place is this?" Yi Xuan asked, looking curiously at the signboard.

"This is the largest auction house in the entire capital—no, in the entire Western Jiang Kingdom!" Fatty Lin said, introducing it to Yi Xuan with a proud look on his face.

Seeing him like that, Yi Xuan curled his lip. "For all the fuss you're making, it belongs to someone else. What are you so proud of?"

Fatty Lin said nothing and pulled Yi Xuan inside.

As soon as the group entered the hall, they heard a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha! Isn't this Boss Lin? What brings you to my humble little shop?" A middle-aged man with a long beard walked toward them.

Seeing the man, Fatty Lin laughed as well. "Boss Zhu, I wouldn't dare call your Treasure Gathering Pavilion a little shop. Otherwise, what would that make my modest business? A peddler's stall? Hahaha!"

Yi Xuan stayed behind Fatty Lin, listening as he and the man exchanged pleasantries.

After leading Fatty Lin, Yi Xuan, and the others into a luxurious private room, the man looked at Yi Xuan behind Fatty Lin and asked, "Boss Lin, Attendant Shen and I are old acquaintances! But I haven't yet had the pleasure of knowing who this honored guest is...?"

Rather than introducing Yi Xuan directly, Fatty Lin said to him, "Brother Yi, this is the shopkeeper of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, Shopkeeper Tong, known as Three Eyes-Tong Huayu!"

"I don't deserve the honor, I don't deserve it. It's just a compliment from others in the trade. It doesn't count for much!" Tong Huayu hurriedly replied modestly upon hearing Fatty Lin's introduction.

Yi Xuan knew that by introducing Shopkeeper Tong to him, Fatty Lin was asking whether he wanted to reveal his identity to the man.

Yi Xuan cupped his hands toward Shopkeeper Tong and said, "So it's Shopkeeper Tong. Forgive my lack of courtesy. I am Yi Xuan, a disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect!"

Shopkeeper Tong was a veteran of the business world, and with a nickname like Three Eyes, his eye for people was naturally discerning.

From the moment the group entered, he had noticed that although Fatty Lin appeared to be the one in charge, both he and Attendant Shen behind him showed extraordinary respect for the young Yi Xuan.

Shopkeeper Tong had met disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect before, but the importance Fatty Lin placed on Yi Xuan showed that his identity was no ordinary one. So he said, "You're an esteemed disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect! Forgive my lack of courtesy. Brother Yi, if anything catches your eye later, tell me. I'll find a way to take it off the auction list and give it to you directly!"

"Whoa! You old rascal, you've never been that generous to me!" Fatty Lin immediately protested at Shopkeeper Tong's words, pointing at his nose and shouting.

Shopkeeper Tong, however, kept smiling. "How could I forget you, Boss Lin? Pick something too. It's on me!"

Only then did Fatty Lin look satisfied as he examined the auction list that had been handed to the group.

The best auction house in the entire Western Jiang Kingdom really was different. Although it was only a secular auction house, most of the things up for auction belonged to immortal cultivators.

Pills, weapons, Law Treasures, secret manuals—it had everything one could wish for. Yi Xuan even saw a Golden Core Realm Cultivation Method listed at the end of the booklet as the grand finale.

He flipped back a page, and a picture of a flame appeared before his eyes, with a description written beside it.

"Golden Flame: Spirit Fire"

"Properties: exceptionally high temperature, easy to control"

"Ranking: not on the Spirit Fire Ranking"

"What does this mean?" Yi Xuan asked Fatty Lin, pointing to the last line.

Shopkeeper Tong, who was beside them, smiled and explained, "Golden Flame is a relatively common Spirit Fire, and it has no particular properties, so it cannot make it onto the Spirit Fire Ranking. Most Spirit Fires in this world have their own respective properties. The immortal cultivation world ranks them according to the strength of those properties!"

Hearing this, Yi Xuan nodded. "So Golden Flame is a Spirit Fire that isn't all that impressive?"

"You can't quite put it that way. To the great and renowned sects, Spirit Fires like Golden Flame really are like chicken ribs. But to ordinary cultivators, they're still rare treasures!"

Yi Xuan thought about it and realized that made sense. The Treasure Vault Pavilion was, after all, an auction house in a secular dynasty. It was impressive enough that it could auction items belonging to immortal cultivators, so how could it possibly auction something that was extremely rare even in the immortal cultivation world?

Seeing that the two had been silent for some time, Shopkeeper Tong stepped forward and asked, "Boss Lin? Young Master Yi! Have you found anything you like?"

Yi Xuan shook his head at Shopkeeper Tong, then walked out of the room.

Shopkeeper Tong looked at Fatty Lin in bewilderment. "This...?"

"I came here specifically to accompany Brother Yi this time. Brother Tong, what my brother wants isn't something you can afford to give away!"

"But he didn't tell me what it was!"

"Didn't he just ask about it?"

Hearing Fatty Lin's words, Shopkeeper Tong asked in disbelief, "Golden Flame?"

Seeing Fatty Lin get up and head outside as well, Shopkeeper Tong hurriedly grabbed him. "Boss Lin, that really isn't something I can decide. Please put in a good word for me with Young Master Yi. Don't let him hold a grudge against me!"

Fatty Lin pulled Shopkeeper Tong's hand off his arm and said, "This brother of yours isn't that kind of person. He came here in the first place to bid on that Spirit Fire. If you're sincere, don't pull any tricks and deliberately drive up the price when the time comes. My brother isn't someone you can afford to offend!"

With that, he left the Treasure Gathering Pavilion without looking back.