But Little White was completely engrossed in eating this and that, so his Master's teasing went well over his head.
After Murong Qingyan looked around and surveyed the situation, she withdrew her gaze. Of course, she didn't know what was happening in other VIP-rooms on the second floor. Since she couldn't see guests in other VIP-rooms, they couldn’t see her either.
Besides, she found this type of curiosity unnecessary. It had to be known, that guests of these VIP-rooms were all experts. Even such an innocent move as a little peek in their room could draw their unwelcome attention.
Though she couldn't see the people inside, she knew that many of her acquaintances came here today. Apart from Qiuyuan Lishang and Nangong Ting who just exchanged greetings downstairs, Head of Murong family, Murong Xiong definitely wouldn't miss such a grand occasion.
"It seems like this time Four Great Families will unavoidably join the fray altogether," Murong Qingyan touched her chin, contemplating the situation, then, added with a laugh: "I wonder, when the time comes, who will be lucky enough to bring there ten pills home."
"Master, who would you prefer to end up with these pills?" Little White curiously asked.
"Actually, it doesn't matter to me, who gets them," Murong Qingyan faintly smiled: "What I care about is how much money these pills will bring me."
In the Auction Hall, seats for the audience took up three sides of the hall, while the exhibition stage was positioned at the fourth one. Almost all of the seats were already occupied, it could be said that this auction was indeed an unprecedented occasion. But what caused this was nothing else but ten Zhuji pills.
The auction had finally begun. On the stage that was brightly lit, an old man came up onto the platform.
Seeing that man, the crowd below grew restless.
"Look! The person who directs this auction is actually Old Master Liu! It's been a long time since he led one."
"Master Liu personally presides over the auction, looks like the items these time are indeed precious."
"Earlier I heard that there will be Zhuji pills auctioned, now it seems to be true."
Apparently, Liu Pinyan anticipated such clamor amongst the guests. With a hint of a smile on his face, he unhurriedly raised his hand and rang a bell.
Immediately, the audience fell silent.
Seeing this happen from her VIP-room, Murong Qingyan raised an eyebrow and a smile danced in her eyes. The auction was very lively and that made her quite happy. The more excited the crowd was, the bigger profit she would make.
On the stage, Liu Pinyan's face broke into a smile. Earlier they had already wetted guests' appetite, now it was only natural to go straight to the business, so he declared without beating around the bush: "Today, this old man will be in charge of this Top-quality Auction. And now, this old man is honored to formally announce the start of the auction."
The entire hall suddenly went dark, only the platform at the center of the stage as before was brightly lit. The light was focused on Liu Pinyan, who held up the first item to introduce.
It was a core of a demonic beast.
"The first item to be auctioned today," Liu Pinyan presented the item: "is a core of level six demonic beast Stormbird."
Seeing this item, guests of the Auction House were slightly surprised. Who could have guessed that the first item of the auction would be a core of such a high-level beast? In terms of strength, this sixth level Stormbird was equal to a human cultivator of Heart Demons period¹. Whether this core was to be embedded into a weapon or directly absorbed to supplement cultivation, it was undoubtedly a good thing to have.
Where this Heart Demons (or Temptation, Heart Refining; 心动期, xīndòng qí) period falls in the grand picture of cultivation periods is yet to be known, but if the author goes with one of more standard views on the cultivation, then it should be the one Murong Qingyan would tackle next. Please rate the translation quality!