Ji Hao and Si Wen Ming rested in the Four Sea Palace for the night, witnessing the extremely extravagant life of the dragon-kind. The next morning, they changed their looks and walked into the largest auction house in Chi Ban Market.
The great hall was luxuriously decorated. Countless human-head sized luminous pearls were inlaid in the ceiling according to the positions of stars. Those pearls glowed brightly, lighting the entire hall up.
When Ji Hao and Si Wen Ming walked into the hall with their bodies covered in long cloaks and faces covered in masks, the hall was already filled with people. Some were like Ji Hao and Si Wen Ming, who had covered their bodies and faces with cloaks and masks. Some even twisted the light around them with a special magic and released a faint layer of mist to wrap themselves up, seeming to be too afraid of being recognized. These people were quiet, sitting in groups of three to five in corners of the hall, while coldly looking around. Obviously, these people all came with particular purposes and were well-prepared.
Some people had been carelessly greeting each other, laughing and chatting, proudly boasting about the benefits they had recently gained, and the number of people by which their families had recently grown. These people came to watch the show, and wouldn’t cause any threat to Ji Hao and Si Wen Ming.
Some other people sat on stands against the four walls of this great hall. Those seats were specially prepared for VIP guests. Each of those guests had a large group of guards, sitting on their seats with heavy weapons, looking down at the entire hall.
Ji Hao paid some special attention to these people. He found that these people might not be too powerful themselves, but the force they represented must be especially strong. If a few of these rich people also wanted that Sky Eye, the price of that Sky Eye would be hard to predict.
Quickly glancing at Si Wen Ming who stood beside him, Ji Hao chuckled. Fortunately, he dragged Si Wen Ming over as a helper. Marquis Chong Si Xi was extremely wealthy. Therefore, with Si Wen Ming’s help, he would have a better chance to attain that Sky Eye at this auction. If he couldn’t defeat the other bidders, Si Wen Ming had brought a strong force, that would allow him to rob the Sky Eye after this auction.
Si Wen Ming narrowed his eyes, looked around then said in a low voice, "Ao Li, Feng Qinxin, why are these two troubles here? Have they emptied Pan Xi world already?"
Followed Si Wen Ming’s eyes, Ji Hao saw Ao Li and Feng Qinxin, who sat together on a stand.
Ao Li had put his face flatteringly near Feng Qinxin, as he was saying something with a big grin on his face. Judging by the sparkling saliva flowing out from his mouth corner, he must be trying very hard to say something nice, to earn ingratiate himself with Feng Qinxin. As for Feng Qinxin, she was just blandly sitting in there, fiddling with a red ribbon, seeming to be quite bored.
Nine thumb-sized jade bells were tied on an end of the ribbon. Those bells would tinkle once the ribbon moved, which would cause Ji Hao a serious dizziness, as if the whole world was twisting and spinning fast.
Hurriedly turning around, Ji Hao said in a low voice, "I didn’t see this girl have that treasure the last time, did I?"
Si Wen Ming sighed slightly, and explained with a bland tone, "A month ago, a Kuafu Family Elder tore apart a land of Pan Xi world with a great power and found a natural underground cave suffused by pure natural powers. Those nine bells are a set of natural-crafted treasure, named sky-shaking bell, found in that underground cave."
"Eh? In this case, those bells should belong to Kuafu Family, shouldn’t they?" asked Ji Hao in confusion.
"Si Wen Ming rubbed his chin and said embarrassedly, "The Kuafu Family Elder was knocked out on the back by a phoenix-kind elder, and those bells were snatched by Feng Qinxin. This nearly became a war, and Emperor Shun spent quite an effort to appease this."
Giving another series of embarrassed laughter, Si Wen Ming lowered his voice and continued, "Because of this, Kuafu Family have almost convinced their ally, Long Bo Country, to join hands and start an all out war against the phoenix-kind…This was quite humiliating… Therefore, by now, only a few of us know about this."
Ji Hao threw a complicated glance at Feng Qinxin, and also said in an embarrassed tone, "The dragon-kind is wealthy while the phoenix-kind possess the most treasures… So this is how they gained all those treasures. They have already swept across Pan Xi world. I just wish they will not bid against us in here, because that would be truly troublesome."
Si Wen Ming had the same worry. If Ao Li and Feng Qinxin also wanted that Sky Eye, he truly had no idea how to deal with that. He could bid against them, as his father, Marquis Chong Si Xi, could never be as rich as the dragon-kind and phoenix-kind, not even if he emptied his pockets. This Sky Eye was crucial to Ji Hao’s plan regarding sneaking into Liang Zhu City. It was an essential factor, relating to whether Ji Hao could successfully save Di Luolang and pull a non-humankind family to the side of the humankind, or not.
If that Sky Eye truly landed in the hands of Ao Li and Feng Qinxin…
Si Wen Ming clicked his tongue and subconsciously glanced at Ji Hao, ‘This boy was never a simple one. He wouldn’t do anything strange, would he?’ Based on what Ji Hao had done in Pan Xi world, perhaps Ao Li and Feng Qinxin could not rival him.
Ji Hao and Si Wen Ming sat down in a corner. Instinctively, they avoided the stand where Ao Li and Feng Qinxin were sitting on, and chose the furthest corner from them to sit down.
Many other people walked in after Ji Hao and Si Wen Ming, and soon, this large hall that was broad enough to contain tens of thousands of people was filled up. Hundreds of stands around the central area of the hall were now filled with proud VIP guests as well. Some were human beings while some were non-human beings, and there were even countless years old spirit creatures from forests. At first glance, a large group of weird looking people gathered in the hall, making this auction look like a great party.
When the hall was almost full, the door closed loudly. Next, countless spell symbols lightened up on the wall and formed an enormous defensive magic formation that sealed the hall off.
A handsome middle-aged man smilingly walked out from a door. Meanwhile, a series creaking noises was let out from the floor in the middle of the hall. A round-shaped, three-meter in radius, purely golden stand rose from underground. The middle-aged man flashed swiftly across the air, moved up to the stand and grinningly bowed towards each direction.
"My dear guests, this is another seasonal auction…"
Before he finished the first sentence, a beast leg, which was eaten halfway, swished over from a stand and violently thudded against the middle-aged man’s forehead.
"Cut the crap, just head to the business! Who has the time to listen to your bull*hit? Say another useless word and you will be chopped into a thousand bits!" From that stand where the half beast leg came from, a fifteen-meter tall giant creature, who had a horn on his forehead, was pointing at the middle-age man and roaring resonantly.
Countless surrounding people yelled out, some even stomped their feet against the ground, expecting an agitating show.
"This is the only son of the most powerful beast of Ya Ci Clan, the Yi Ci King, from Western Wasteland," Si Wen Ming murmured in a low voice, "He came to join in the fun too."
The middle-aged man smiled bitterly while hurriedly turned his palm around, then spread his hands. Following his moves, a splendid silver light poured out in a large stream like a silver waterfall.
"As you wish, my dear guests… The first treasure today, thirty-three thousand grains of golden sands, showered under the pure light of the Great White Star in the east for a hundred and twenty thousand years. This is the top-grade material for sword-smithing…"