After Escaping From Death, He Went Even Crazier By Criticizing Black Lotus Chapter 26
byThe moment the merman appeared, murmurs began to rise in the auction house:
“Heh, the first item up for auction is actually a merman. It truly lives up to its reputation as the largest auction house in the City of Ultimate Bliss, such a grand gesture!”
“It looks like today’s finale item must be something extraordinary…”
A young disciple who had just entered the world of cultivation was puzzled and asked aloud, “Isn’t it just a merman with slightly better looks? What’s so amazing about it?”
“You ignorant brat, this isn’t an ordinary merman; this is a merman from the Sea of No Delusion!”
“As everyone knows, the Sea of No Delusion is boundless. If you don’t travel by spatial artifact or use a spatial teleportation array, no matter how high your cultivation, you will get lost in the endless sea and die trapped within… This merman from the Sea of No Delusion grows up inside the sea and is naturally endowed with extremely high spatial talent. If one can obtain him, they can use him to master high-level spatial magic and traverse the Seven Continents and Four Seas.”
Lu Wu smiled and interjected, “This guest is absolutely right. However, the minimum price for an ordinary merman from the Sea of No Delusion is only thirty to fifty thousand spirit stones. The reason the starting price for the merman auctioned today is so high is because he possesses a special characteristic.”
He deliberately paused to build suspense. Seeing the rising curiosity and the atmosphere heating up, he slowly revealed the rest:
“This child not only possesses extremely high spatial talent, but he also carries a trace of spatial law.”
In other words, this merman was equivalent to a ready-made Heavenly Law.
As soon as these words were spoken, the venue erupted in an uproar, and people began bidding fiercely.
“What?! This merman actually carries a Heavenly Law?!”
“I bid five hundred thousand!”
“Six hundred thousand spirit stones!”
…
Although the flower curtain blocked some of the noise, the excitement on the floor was still audible.
Xiao Jianming drank his tea, unconcerned, and noticed Su Huan looking restless out of the corner of his eye. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “You want to save him?”
Though it was a question, he was already certain of the answer in his heart.
If the buyer wanted to obtain the merman’s spatial talent and law, the merman would surely lose his life. Su Huan must have felt pity for him.
Unconsciously, the corner of his mouth curved up slightly. Xiao Jianming instinctively picked up his teacup to moisten his throat.
Since ancient times, the Imprinted Spirits revered by the Lingxi Clan have all shared this irritating temperament—always meddling in external affairs. It was utterly troublesome.
Unexpectedly, after hearing his words, Su Huan nervously covered the storage pouch at his waist, shaking his head like a rattle drum, causing the jade ribbon tying his hair to rustle loudly: “I didn’t! I don’t! I don’t have money!”
Xiao Jianming’s expression instantly darkened. He placed the teacup heavily on the table, making a loud thud.
A counterfeit is a counterfeit; it cannot compare to the real thing in any way.
Su Huan didn’t know why he was suddenly angry. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, noticing the continuously rising auction price on the floor. He couldn’t help but touch his somewhat empty storage pouch, his eyes drooping.
He was truly so poor.
“Three million spirit stones!”
“My Young Master has taken a liking to this merman. I ask everyone to show some respect.”
Suddenly, a pleasant female voice rang out from the top-floor private box, and the venue instantly fell silent.
A few seconds later, countless whispers broke out in the auction house:
“There have long been rumors that the owner behind the Jinrui Auction House comes from the four great aristocratic families: Nangong, Ji, Yue, and Lan. That’s why the four top-floor boxes are always reserved for people from the four great families. It seems the rumors are true…”
“I just wonder which family’s young master has arrived…”
“Such arrogance, it must be that Young Master from the Yue family…”
Hearing this, Su Huan looked up curiously toward the top floor and saw the flower curtain, woven from chrysanthemum petals, being lifted by two maidservants, revealing the true face of the bidder—
It was a golden-clad young man. He wore a gilded feather crown, had a face as beautiful as a woman’s, but his eyes were unruly. Covered in gold and silver, he was clearly the image of a wealthy, dissolute young master, and an extremely rich one at that.
At the same time, everyone’s attention was focused on the young man. No one noticed that the originally dark and unlit Heaven-rank private box slowly lit up, and a faint, clear light shone through the red plum blossom curtain.
A wave of astonishment swept through the surroundings:
“It really is Yue Changming! The Yue family’s base is in Liujin, why would he come to the Central Continent?”
“The Yue family controls the Star-Swallowing Iron Ore Vein in Liujin Continent and is one of the four great families. Who would dare offend him? It looks like the spatial law will fall into Yue Changming’s hands…”
“Among the four family young masters, only this one is utterly useless and has a penchant for playing with beautiful young men. This merman is so beautiful; he probably won’t find peace before he dies…”
Yue Changming held a string of spiritual grapes in his hand. Hearing the comments, he wasn’t annoyed. His bright eyes curved into a smile, revealing the slightly sharp canine tooth on his right side. He lifted his chin and said, “That’s right. Does anyone dare to compete with me?”
After he spoke, ten breaths passed, and no one made a sound.
Yue Changming sneered, “A bunch of cowards.”
He waved his hand, and the maidservant beside him was about to descend the stairs to claim the merman as ordered. However, before she could leave the private box, a “spoiler” intervened:
“I bid five million.”
Yue Changming coldly swept his gaze toward the source of the voice. He was stunned to realize the sound came from the Heaven-rank private box and fell silent for a moment.
The young disciple asked again, “Why isn’t Yue Changming speaking? Is he scared?”
The master beside him broke out in a cold sweat, clamped his hand over the disciple’s mouth, and scolded, “Wicked disciple, you’re going to be the death of me! Say less!”
Someone who enjoyed the spectacle chimed in, “Heh, of course he’s scared. Do you know who is in that Heaven-rank private box?”
“Who?”
“If ranked by family strength, the Heaven-rank private box belongs exclusively to the Nangong family, the head of the Hundred Families, which controls the right to mine the main spirit stone veins across three continents.”
“If it were just an ordinary Nangong descendant, they wouldn’t be able to suppress Young Master Yue. But judging by the voice just now, the person sitting in that box is the Young Master of the Nangong family, the Young Sect Master of the Jianqing Sect—Nangong Yi! The one who traveled the Seven Continents and Four Seas alone at twelve, slew an evil dragon at thirteen, pacified the Black Ghost Abyss at fourteen, achieved mastery in the way of the sword at fifteen, and was granted the title ‘Silver Bloom Lord’ before reaching the Nascent Soul stage!”
“What?! It’s actually the Silver Bloom Lord!”
“The Nangong family is the head of the Hundred Families, and their patriarch has the authority to command all of them. The Silver Bloom Lord is the Nangong Patriarch’s biological son. No wonder Yue Changming didn’t dare to speak up…”
Nangong Yi!
As soon as Su Huan heard these three words, his eyes lit up. Holy cow, Fellow Daoist Nangong’s background is this terrifying!
His perpetually furrowed brows finally relaxed.
This merman would definitely live a good life now.
Sure enough, after Lu Wu struck the gavel, Nangong Yi spoke again: “Then I trouble Young Master Lu Wu to inform your establishment’s master to release this merman friend back into the Sea of No Delusion.”
Once the golden decree was issued, no one dared to covet the merman anymore.
Otherwise, it would be trampling on the face of the aristocratic families and would invite retribution from the Hundred Families.
Anyone who embarks on the path of cultivation must have some connection with the various immortal sects and aristocratic families. Once they offend a family, they are cut off from all kinds of cultivation resources.
Even in the exploration of randomly opened wild secret realms, the disciples of the aristocratic families occupy the vast majority of the power. Therefore, offending Nangong Yi just for a chance at a law of nature was truly not worth the loss.
Of course, if one had the money, they could compete fairly with the aristocratic families, but no one with comparable financial power to the Four Great Families had appeared yet.
Yue Changming gritted his teeth and coldly snorted, “Nangong Yi… just you wait. In the Family Immortal Trials three years from now, my Yue family will definitely surpass yours and claim the top spot among the families!”
After his words fell, he sat back down in a huff. The maidservant, also angry, swiftly closed the flower curtain.
Lu Wu’s smile remained unchanged. He complied with Nangong Yi’s request and had the merman taken away. He then announced loudly, “Next, please look at the second auction item, the Lingyun Pearl.”
…
The subsequent auction items were not as lively. The Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow private boxes were silent again, and the commotion gradually subsided.
Su Huan breathed a sigh of relief. He then pulled out a thick book, spread it on the table, and buried his head in careful reading and memorization.
Xiao Jianming was drawn to his actions and couldn’t help but frown. “What are you doing?”
Su Huan looked up and smiled shyly, “We’re going to the Moon Ember Secret Realm soon, aren’t we? I want to learn more knowledge.”
As the saying goes, knowledge creates wealth, and learning achieves the future. According to the usual tropes of novels, this secret realm was his chance to get rich overnight!
Xiao Jianming picked up the book cover and glanced at it. The ancient, yellowed cover was clearly printed with the large characters: “Three Days to Learn How to Identify Immortal Realm Spiritual Plants,” authored by Nangong Yi.
He scoffed, “Hypocritical and seeking fame.” He was talking about Nangong Yi. Then he sneered again, “So stupid. You read such improper things.” He was scolding Su Huan.
A flash of icy blue light appeared on his fingertip. A small jade slip materialized in his palm. He lightly touched it to his forehead, and a golden light flowed into the jade slip. He then tossed it up, and it landed in Su Huan’s lap.
Xiao Jianming raised his head and said, “Here, read this.”
Su Huan picked up the jade slip in surprise. Imitating the usage he remembered, he channeled a stream of spiritual energy into it. Instantly, countless pieces of knowledge about spiritual plants, demonic beasts, and even demonic creatures flooded his mind like surging seawater. Thousands of memories converged into a book titled “Chronicles of Immortal and Demonic Creatures,” authored by successive Lingxi Clan Chiefs.
Wow.
Su Huan was immersed in it, occasionally letting out gasps of surprise. Xiao Jianming lightly hummed and sipped his tea.
After an unknown amount of time, the sound Xiao Jianming wanted to hear finally came from outside the curtain:
“The next auction item, a Thousand-Year Lingxi Horn. Starting price: three million spirit stones.”
He immediately focused his gaze. Sure enough, he saw the familiar pair of horns. Xiao Jianming couldn’t help but clench his fists.
“It’s a Lingxi Horn! A spiritual object rumored to cleanse inner demons and allow immediate breakthrough upon consumption!”
“It is said that if it is polished into an accessory, the wearer can ignore the restrictions of the Sea of No Delusion and cross the great sea. But the Lingxi Clan is extinct; this item is now priceless and unavailable on the market. I never expected to encounter it here…”
Everyone present went wild:
“I bid three million eight hundred thousand!”
“I bid five million!”
“Five million six hundred thousand!”
…
Xiao Jianming coldly watched the fiery scene. He lowered his eyes, about to bid, when someone on the top floor suddenly spoke:
“I bid ten million.”
As soon as the words fell, the crowd quieted.
The Profound-rank private box, draped with curtains of fresh green bamboo leaves, was lifted by an exquisite young man. The fiery lotus mark on his pristine forehead clearly struck everyone’s eyes, causing gasps of surprise—
“The Brahma Lotus Mark, it’s the Ji family’s Young Master, Ji Buhuan!”
Xiao Jianming suddenly looked up, his pupils contracting sharply.
…Buhuan Gege?