8 Chapter 8: Purple Cloud Auction II

"130 Spirit Stones!" A guest exclaimed in excitement.

"140 Spirit Stones!"

"150 Spirit Stones!"

"..."

"..."

And so, the spirited bidding war began, with voices escalating as the numbers climbed higher and higher. The bidding frenzy continued, pushing the price higher and higher until it reached 250 Spirit Stones, where the enthusiasm began to wane.

"Junior Sister, do you perhaps fancy the Desolate Ice Crystal?" Qiao Xuan asked.

"How about I buy it for you?"

Xiao Hong, who was meticulously feigning interest in the stage as though it were the most riveting spectacle, was caught off guard. She began, "There's no need-"

"500 Spirit Stones!" But he'd already shouted out. Immediately, several gazes locked onto their room.

Xiao Hong suppressed her irritation. However, what could she do other than accept it? She knew very well that this rascal would definitely not take her Spirit Stones. After all, he'd already used the reason of 'celebrating his breakthrough' to eliminate any sort of excuse she could use to refuse his 'gifts'.

In the Immortal Cultivation world, such an action could and would be construed as rather impolite. Especially since both she and Qiao Guiying were much weaker than Qiao Xuan. It would mean disrespect by not giving face to a superior cultivator. With how much emphasis the World of Cultivation puts on status, it would not be much better than humiliating him!

So she had no choice but to accept this 'gift'.

Qiao Xuan successfully bid for the Desolate Ice Crystal. He was happy! After all, which girl did not like expensive gifts? There was not a single one he'd met that did not like it! With his status, wealth and looks, wooing girls and bedding them had always been that easy!

Taking a step back, even if the girl was the fiercely independent kind, this strategy would still work!

According to him, if she was that kind of girl, she needed to be shown her place when compared to him. Sure, it would breed dissatisfaction in her heart at first. She would despise him and desire status and power equivalent to or greater than his and try her hardest to strengthen herself and her status.

But slowly after a period of time, she would understand that the gap between them could only increase. That feeling of helplessness would evolve into a longing to attain the same position as him. At that time, he would show that he was still interested in her and she would be flattered to receive his attention!

Moreover, this type of woman could not stand being indebted to anyone, so she would often think of ways to repay their debtors as soon as possible. This would result in her thinking more often about him.

Then, she would slowly confuse her longing for his status and her feelings towards him. According to him, Xiao Hong was the latter kind of girl. He had not missed the glint in her eyes when she'd been forced to accompany him by his Uncle. That fierce determination in her eyes only increased his desire to make her his.

Of course, for this to work, the gap in power and status has to be ensured.

And he was very confident in himself! He was only 23, but he was already a Wind-Thunder Disaster level cultivator! In a few more years, he would be prepared to confront the Life Destruction Disaster, and after surpassing that he would be a genuine Nirvana expert - one that has achieved it before the age of 30, allowing him to become an Inner Disciple!

The difference between the Outer Disciple and the Inner Disciple was as great as Heaven and Earth! One was like a street dog that could be abandoned at any time, while the other was like the cherished only child of the family. There was simply no comparison.

"Young Master Qiao has bid 500 Spirit Stones! Does anyone want to raise the bid?

Unsurprisingly, no one in the venue chose to outbid Qiao Xuan. The Desolate Ice Crystal might be precious, but it definitely wasn't worth 500 Spirit Stones. So, Qiao Xuan smoothly received a Treasure Storage Box which he presented to Xiao Hong.

"Thank you for such an expensive gift, Senior Brother. Xiao Hong will do her best to repay you." Xiao Hong her voice was sweet as honey, and her smile was as bright as a fireball exploding. She accepted the Treasure Storage Box with the grace of a swan on a mission to outswan all the other swans.

Inwardly though, she was seething with malice, 'See if I don't 'gift' you several thousand fireballs!'

"Like I said, Junior Sister Xiao, this is a celebration of my breakthrough! Please give me some face!" Qiao Xuan said seriously. "Besides, it's not that expensive."

Xiao Hong nearly slammed the Treasure Storage Box into his face out of sheer jealousy, 'Fucking Immortal Cultivation families and their stupidly full coffers!'

On the side other side, Qiao Guiying watched all this with narrowed eyes. An odd sensation settled in her chest - a weighty feeling as if a stone had lodged itself in her heart. A stone that grew heavier the longer she watched the two of them. Even if she knew, rationally, that her Junior Sister was being polite because she had no other choice, the feeling remained - gnawing away at her tolerance. She knew this feeling rather well - it wasn't the first time she had felt jealous, after all. It was just that, its intensity was the strongest she'd ever felt.

She lightly bit her lip to suppress her feelings. She didn't want to add to Xiao Hong's trouble - she felt that she had already brought enough trouble to her in the form of Qiao Xuan and her Father.

***

The auction continued. Xiao Hong noticed that it was mostly people on the first and second floors that bid. The ones on the third floor very rarely bid. Although, there weren't many people on the third floor other than them in the first place.

Every time they did, however, no one else did. Not because they didn't dare to, but because they simply did not have the spirit stones to top the bid.

As Xiao Hong saw many different materials being auctioned off, she had an indescribable feeling. Her heart skipped a beat every time an item was auctioned off. Oh, how she wished she had all those Spirit Stones for herself! She almost salivated!

She almost reached out to wipe the imaginary drool off her face.

'I finally understand why those cultivators love killing and snatching so much, such allure… it's truly hard to resist' Xiao Hong suddenly felt as if she had been enlightened.

"Next up, we have the Techniques section!" The Auctioneer, Jia Lan, announced with great enthusiasm, and the attendees below also watched the 'bounce' with equal enthusiasm.

"Right off the bat, we have a Black Rank Battle Technique: the Celestial Thunderflame Sword Art! A Sword Technique with major Thunder and Fire attributes with a minor Metal and Celestial attribute. Even among the Profound Rank Battle Techniques, it stands heads and shoulders above others, with its tremendous single-target attack power! Our experts have determined that upon cultivating it to Perfection, one can have the power to severely hurt Elite Disaster Experts!"

Xiao Hong raised her eyebrows in surprise; this Battle Technique was unexpectedly strong.

Seeing Xiao Hong's surprise, he smiled, "Junior Sister are you interested in this Technique? I shall buy -"

Before he could force another gift onto her, she waved her hand in denial and hurriedly interrupted, "No, No! There's no need, Senior Brother! I already have plans to exchange contribution points for Battle Tecniques from the Sect! Adding on more would only hamper my cultivation!"

Qiao Xuan nodded in understanding.

Jia Lan continued, "The starting bid is 200 Spirit Stones, each increment must be at least 10 Spirit Stones!"

Once again the bidding war started.

As the Auction continued, Xiao Hong made small talk with Qiao Guiying and Qiao Xuan - she did not want another 'gift' because Qiao Xuan thought she liked it.

The section featuring pills came and went, but Qiao Xuan couldn't find the Heavenly Spirit Pills he had been searching for. He sighed in disappointment, remarking, "Sigh, as expected. How could I find Heavenly Spirit Pills here? Even within the Sect, it is in extreme demand."

'Well, it is the most difficult to refine pill of the 2nd grade. The difficulty is on par with the most difficult 3rd grade! Even 3rd grade Alchemist have a headache trying to refine these pills.' Xiao Hong thought, 'However, for me, it is not.'

She smiled inwardly.

Heavenly Spirit Pills were used by Divine Sea and Soul Palace Realm cultivators to strengthen their Soul Sea. It was especially beneficial in the Soul Palace Realm - as building their Soul Palace was very burdensome on the Soul Sea. Even Disaster experts wanted them because it was very helpful in the recovery after they faced a Disaster - especially the Life Disaster.

Now, she had a way to 'repay' Qiao Xuan. But, she would wait till the end of the auction. Who knows if he'll play more tricks if she gave them now? Plus, she really wanted to know what his face would be like!

"Now, folks, onto the Miscellaneous Items section!" Jia Lan's charming voice echoed throughout the venue, "Don't underestimate this section just because it might or might not have anything useful! Many have acquired great treasures for very little.

"For example, long ago, an Outer Sect disciple of the Purple Spirit Sect once found an ancient inheritance in a Black Stone no one else wanted, allowing him to soar to the skies and become a Core Disciple!

"That's right I'm talking about the Ancestor of the Yang Family! Yang Chen - who currently holds the status of Inner Elder!"

As Jia Lan was hyping it up, Xiao Hong straightened up and concentrated on the stage - this was where protagonists found super awesome resources that allowed them to reach the Heavens in a single bound! She would be lying if she said she wasn't filled with anticipation!

Qiao Xuan, who had been paying attention to Xiao Hong, shook his head, and, "Junior Sister don't be deceived, the case of Elder Yang is incredibly rare. He is the only one to encounter such a powerful fortuitous opportunity here. The others merely gained something marginally worthwhile."

Xiao Hong nodded politely with a smile, "Thank You, Senior Brother; Xiao Hong is grateful for your advice. But this Junior Sister still wishes to try her luck."

"Very well, Junior Sister. Just say the word and I'll buy it for you! Cousin, the same goes for you - buy whatever you want to!" Qiao Xuan felt a little dissatisfied that his advice was ignored, but he suppressed it.

Xiao Hong's eyes focused on the platform with anticipation - she refused to believe she was not a protagonist. She had a system - which made her one of the most powerful kinds of protagonists to exist!

***

On a quiet corner seat on the ground floor, Gu Ran sat with his eyes closed. This was a corner for unimportant people who usually weren't very important - or were very unlucky. Or they were trying to appear inconspicuous.

Throughout the auction, he hadn't bothered to raise a bid on a single item. His sole purpose for being here revolved around one thing and one thing only! The one thing he had been longing for!

The moment when he heard that the Miscellaneous Items section had come, he opened his eyes. With an unfathomable look within his eyes that resembled the All-devouring Abyss, he looked at the stage, where the young man was bringing up the first item.

As he watched, he recalled the last few years of his life since he had possessed the body after the predecessor had died because of hidden injuries erupting.

In his past life, he was an extremely powerful cultivator - True Lord Scarlet Dawn! However, his life had been tragically cut short during a Realm-spanning battle, betrayed by his very own comrades, betrayed by those he fought for! At first, he'd thought his Dao had ended, but the Heavens had given him another chance!

He was blessed with a chance to once again walk the Dao!

'This time I will not falter! This time I will surpass my previous peak! I will reach the Peak of Cultivation to become immortal and everlasting!

'And I will have my revenge,' Gu Ran clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, 'Just you wait Shentu Liang, Jiang Chen. I will make you understand the true meaning of horror.'

His eyes brimmed with monstrous killing intent. Thankfully, he had experience in controlling his emotions and Killing Intent or else half the people in this place would pass out from the sheer spiritual pressure and weaker people might directly become a vegetable!

He closed his again and breathed deeply to calm his agitated emotions.

This time he was here because he needed an auxiliary material - one he never thought he'd find in this strange and unfamiliar Lower Realm.

The Dark Abyss Stone was an auxiliary resource to the Supreme Grade Cultivation Technique he cultivated - the Heavenly Abyss Scripture! What was a Supreme grade Scripture? It was not merely a set of techniques; it was practically a celestial roadmap - it was a fully-fledged Dao that led directly to the zenith of cultivation!

He had found this Scripture in one of his adventures in a Secret Realm. Back then, it was too late to change the Technique, so he did not cultivate it - after all, there was no way he would be reckless enough to abandon all his centuries of arduous cultivation! If his enemies learnt of his weakened state… He might as well gift-pack himself for them and offer himself up on a silver platter!

So, now that he had the chance, he would naturally cultivate the Supreme Scripture! And he immediately felt the difference - even the disparity between Heaven and Earth wasn't enough to quantify the sheer contrast!

The only gripe he had with it was that it consumed way too many resources. He had spent almost all of his family's savings to barely make it to Yin Disaster. Had he not exhausted the meagre Divine Consciousness he brought over from his previous life to derive an Auxilary Secret Technique, he'd still be rolling around in the mud at the Earth Disaster.

Now, if he could get his hands on the Dark Abyss Stone, he'd be able to undergo Nirvana nine times to achieve the mythical Perfect Nirvana and forge the Heavenly Abyss Physique! Beyond that, he would also be able to use it to cultivate to the Peak of Essence Soul! At that time, there would be no one who could match him in this realm.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had heard the name of the next item about to be auctioned - the Mysterious Black Stone! The locals ignorant of the Dark Abyss Stone's true nature had named it Mysterious Black Stone - it was only thanks to his vast experience that he was able to recognise it.

***

Xiao Hong was starting to feel frustrated as she found nothing interesting. 'Am I really not the destined protagonist?' She pouted inwardly, convinced that fate was conspiring against her.

"The next item we have is the Mysterious Black Stone!"

The young man pulled away the cloth to reveal a deep black, basketball-sized piece of rock. Other than its unusually deep black colour, there was nothing else that seemed out of the ordinary.

"We don't know what the actual use of the stone is."

Immediately, many people lost their interest.

"However, our experts discovered something special about this stone - no matter how much energy you pour into it, it simply disappears! No matter if it is Spiritual Energy or Zhenqi or even Spirit Qi. It is all absorbed without a single trace!

"Obviously, this piece of black stone has a very special background!"

After Jia Lan had finished speaking, a middle-aged man with two thin scars running across his bare arms spoke up, "Isn't that just a slightly darker variation of Wonderous Black Stone? Why are you guys hyping it up so much?"

The Wonderous Black Stone was a strange material that had similar properties to the Dark Abyss Stone - it swallowed any and all energy that was pumped into it. But, even after centuries of research, no one found any real use for it. So it was simply classified as a strange and wondrous material but ultimately useless.

The small amount of enthusiasm Jia Lan had built up in the audience was destroyed faster than an Elder crippling a protagonist's Cultivation!

Jia Lan's eyes twitched violently. She really wished to pull out her sword and give this piece of shit a few (read a thousand) more scars! She would even make them artistic! Like a massive male genitalia across his forehead!

The scarred middle-aged man looked completely unrepentant.

"The starting price will be 100 Spirit Stones." she announced in a somewhat deflated voice, looking so pitiful that a few 'simps' sympathised with her, before glaring fiercely at the scarred middle-aged man. The man noticed the hostile gazes causing his mouth to twitch violently. 'Fuck, I should have kept my mouth shut!'

He was already regretting his inability to control his tongue and couldn't help but think, 'First Brother was right: women are truly harbingers of disasters!'

***

Xiao Hong, unlike others, was staring at the piece of black stone like she'd found a treasure! No, unlike proper protagonists, she did not recognise that it was some extraordinary material at a glance. Her cheat did not give her knowledge beyond what she already knew.

What piqued her interest was its property of devouring any and all Energy supplied to it. If she could figure out what made this thing tick, she could, theoretically, forge a treasure that would absorb all sorts of energy and refine it for cultivation! That would massively alleviate the Spirit Stone crisis she was having!

So immediately she raised a bid.

"110 Spirit Stones!"

Many attendees at the venue looked towards her.

"Eh, it's the beauty accompanying Young Master Qiao!" someone remarked. A lot of people focused their attention on her. Xiao Hong paid no mind to the attention; her focus was entirely on the mysterious black stone.

""Junior Sister?"" Both Qiao Xuan and Qiao Guiying looked at Xiao Hong in surprise. Qiao Xuan was surprised as he did not think anyone would bid on this useless piece of junk.

Gu Ran, who was about to bid, froze in shock. Did someone else know the Dark Abyss Stone? He stared up at the private booth and was stunned for a moment.

'This girl, she's a real beauty.' This girl was probably the most beautiful female he'd seen in both his lives. As a True Lord whose life experience was counted in tens of millennia, he'd seen many, many beauties - but now, they all seemed inferior. Perhaps it was because he'd never cared about anything other than cultivation in his previous life, coupled with his current body that was in its youthful prime, he couldn't help but be captivated for a moment.

But, he wasn't a ten-thousand-year-old monster for nothing - he swiftly controlled his emotions and carefully examined the girl - immediately noticing the barely concealed excitement in her eyes.

'She definitely knows what it is! Or at least she knows something that makes it worthwhile to her!' Gu Ran swiftly came to the wrong conclusion because the middle-aged man's words were indeed true - the Dark Abyss Stone was no better than the Wonderous Black Stone to people who didn't cultivate the Heavenly Abyss Scripture. Even he, with all his knowledge and experience, did not know of any other use.

'Damn it!'

"130 Spirit Stones!" Gu Ran immediately raised the price! If he could he would have directly raised it to 1000 instead. Unfortunately, he was short on Spirit Stones.

"140 Spirit Stones." Xiao Hong didn't even wait and increased the bid.

"150 Spirit Stones!"

"250 Spirit Stones!" This time Qiao Xuan stepped in and directly raised the bid by 100.

"300 Spirit Stones!"

"350!"

"400!" He'd thought he'd smoothly get the Dark Abyss Stone, but did not expect to run into such a problem!

"450!" Qiao Xuan raised the bid again.

"500!" Gu Ran was getting irritated by this Young Master. 'Damn it, if you want to woo a girl, use flowers or something! Why the fuck are you buying her a useless rock?!'

"700 Spirit Stones!" Qiao Xuan's eyes flashed! He refused to believe this person who could not even get a place on the 2nd floor was able to bring out so many spirit stones.

'Damn it, what misfortune! I just had to run into a fucking dandy.' Gu Ran looked at the young master in distaste, 'Just you wait! If Grandaddy here doesn't teach you a lesson, I'll write my name backwards!'

Xiao Hong who had received the Dark Abyss Stone looked at the person who had competed with her for the Black Stone in her hands. Over the next period of time, she mostly ignored Qiao Xuan in favour of Gu Ran.

She suddenly felt interested in this fellow who seemed to give off an enigmatic aura like staring into the Bottomless Abyss that devoured anything and everything around it. More importantly, she also felt a very small resonance with her Celestial God Scripture - like a subtle acknowledgement.

"Junior Sister, do you know this person?" Qiao Xuan asked with a smile on his face that did not reach his eyes.

'Oh, this is interesting~ Hehehe~!' Xiao Hong's brain immediately started turning when she saw his expression.

Xiao Hong shook her head, "Not quite, no. But, he seems rather interesting, his aura seems to be unfathomable, like looking at the Bottomless Abyss! I have a feeling this person is quite incredible and has a bright future ahead." Xiao Hong's face flushed slightly as if she were shy, "Also seems to be rather handsome under the hood."

She had to hold herself back from praising the man in the black cloak to the high Heavens as she saw Qiao Xuan's smile steadily disappear - allowing her to enjoy the rest of the Auction that much more.

Throughout the rest of the Auction, Qiao Xuan remained in a bad mood. Causing Xiao Hong's own mood to soar to Cloud 9.

Sadly, Xiao Hong found nothing else that was of interest to her till the end of the Auction.

As soon as the Auction ended, Qiao Xuan stood up, "Junior Sister Xiao, Cousin, I have some things I have to do. So I will be rude and take my leave first!"

Saying so, he made to leave.

"Wait! Senior Brother!" Xiao Hong stopped him.

"Hmm? What is it Junior Sister?" Qiao Xuan turned around in pleasant surprise, only to find a Jade Bottle flying towards him. Casually catching it and reflexively scanning it with his Divine Sense, while speaking, "What is-?"

Suddenly, he froze in shock. "Heavenly Spirit Pills?! And that too top-grade?!!"

After a few moments, he calmed down, "... Did you refine these, Junior Sister?" Even though he knew the answer, he asked regardless.

Xiao Hong nodded in affirmation, "Since Senior Brother was so kind to me, I will give you these pills," she said sweetly, her face breaking out into a breathtaking smile.

Looking at the peerlessly beautiful face, Qiao Xuan's heart skipped a beat. A new feeling was born inside him - one he'd never felt before. Qiao Xuan stared at her face for a while longer and politely cupped his fists, "Junior Sis - no, Alchemist Xiao, thank you for your gift, it came at a truly opportune time! But still, I must leave. I will thank you properly at a later date!"

"There is no need Senior Brother." Xiao Hong shook her head. She did not want to meet him again - at least not before she had the ability to tell him to shove it where the sun didn't shine and scram. "Xiao Hong has remembered your kindness and will try her best to repay you in the future."

Qiao Xuan nodded absentmindedly and took his leave.

As he went down the stairs, he placed a hand over his chest. Trying to understand what this new feeling was - to no success. But one thing was certain, he did not like the fact that she was interested in the man in the black cloak. Every time he thought about it, a searing rage would blaze through his Heart and his Blood.

His Azure Dragon Bloodline activated, sparking a tremendous hatred for that trash who dared to draw Xiao Hong's attention away from him. His Cultivation Base roiled, wanting to be unleashed onto the world.

'I want her to be mine and mine only.' A seed was planted in his heart.

He brought out his jet-black Communication Jade, "Yue, find everything about this man. And I mean everything. I don't care how you do it, but I want results."

"{Very well, Young Master. I shall do my best}" A pleasant-sounding voice came from the other side.

"Good." He cut off the Qi supply.

'Let's see who you are' His eyes flashed dangerously.

***

On the other side, Xiao Hong had a hard time keeping the delight off her face. She suddenly understood why those protagonists loved face-slapping those Young Masters so much! It was just so satisfying!

Although, what had happened was not truly 'face-slapping', she was still incredibly happy.

Just as she was feeling happy, a thought struck her. 'Wait a minute, protagonist?' she was suddenly reminded of the man in black.

Black Cloak to hide identity? Check.

Buying a material no one else wants? Check.

Unfathomable feeling? Check.

Enemy Young Master? Check.

An Interested Jade Beauty? Check.

Jealous Young Master wants to kill you? Check.

'Fuck, was I just used as a plot device to jumpstart a protagonist's tale of face-slapping and cultivation?' Xiao Hong was so surprised that she forgot to move from her place.

"J-junior Sister, d-do you really like that man in the black cloak? I-if you do…" Qiao Guiying who had been silent all this while spoke up nervously, her eyes darted around looking everywhere but Xiao Hong.

"Sister Ying, you're thinking too much!" Xiao Hong was startled out of her contemplation. "I was just thinking about what use I could get out of this." She shook the box containing the Mysterious Black Stone.

Qiao Guiying's eyes brightened, "Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Hehe~!" Qiao Guiying giggled merrily as if all her depression had been an illusion. She gently, but firmly took Xiao Hong's hand, as if she were a kid afraid of getting lost in a crowded bazaar.

Xiao Hong smiled happily, 'Mh-hm. My Guiying is till the best!'

They walked through the streets leisurely, enjoying the warm afternoon winds blowing against them and travelling around the streets of the Outer City. The dissatisfaction of having to bear with Qiao Xuan's presence disappeared and Xiao Hong was once again happy.

By the time they reached the City Lord's Mansion, it was already evening.

After dropping off Xiao Hong in her courtyard, Qiao Guiying reached her room. Entering it, she quickly closed the door behind her.

The happy smile on her face had disappeared and replaced with a terribly frosty look. Her deep blue eyes were filled with terrible malice that would frighten a lesser man into a timid mouse scampering away.

Her face warped in anger, she clenched and unclenched her jaw and spat out two names with such tremendous hatred it could make one's skin crawl, "Qiao Xuan. Qiao Youran…"