As the night deepened
When Zhu Xian finished his meal, he quietly slipped away and made his way to the branch manager of the Auction House.
He found an office lit by the soft glow of spirit lamps. The man inside — sharp-eyed, finely dressed — looked up, assessing him with a calculating glance.
“Looking to register for the auction?” the manager asked, his gaze narrowing as he studied the stranger. “We have some very rare items this time.”
Zhu Xian didn’t answer right away. His expression was unreadable, as if the man’s words were nothing but distant echoes. Slowly, with steady hands, he slid a spiritual cloth pouch across the desk — its seal humming faintly with restrained energy.
When the manager untied the knot, a subtle pulse of spiritual pressure washed over the room. His eyes widened in disbelief.
Inside, still warm, lay high-grade spiritual cores, fragments of celestial beast bones, darkened scales that shimmered faintly, and rare herbs glowing with dim purple light. Materials gathered over centuries — proof that whoever brought them had walked through death and returned, more than once.
For a few seconds, the manager froze, stunned. Then, his mask of indifference cracked, and his posture straightened. Respect — almost deference — colored his movements as he inclined his head.
“Sir… this way, please. Your items deserve a special evaluation,” he said, his tone a blend of awe and caution. He turned sharply toward a servant girl standing quietly in the corner. “Quickly. Take our esteemed guest to the private waiting room. I will inform the master appraiser myself.”
The girl nodded with a timid bow. Though she was just a mortal, the spiritual pressure surrounding Zhu Xian made her hands tremble slightly as she led him down the inner corridor.
Nearby, curious murmurs stirred. Few people ever gained access to the inner halls of the Miter Auction House, and those who did were not ordinary men.
Zhu Xian walked forward without glancing back.
The waiting room wasn’t lavish, but its elegance was in its restraint. Cool jade walls were etched with concealment runes, and the faint fragrance of midnight lotus powder filled the air, soothing the mind and slowing the pulse.
Zhu Xian sat on a blackwood bench reinforced with spiritual silver veins. He didn’t cross his legs or close his eyes. He simply sat — steady, silent, like an immovable mountain.
Across from him, on a low table, rested a porcelain teapot glazed in pale green. Steam coiled upward in delicate ribbons, untouched. The servant girl waited in the corner, head bowed, afraid to make a sound. A bead of sweat traced the line of her neck. She didn’t know whether to fear his silence… or his gaze.
Zhu Xian remained motionless, his spine straight, his presence unshakable. The lotus scent in the air did nothing to him. His breath was even, controlled, yet his sharp golden eyes missed nothing — every shadow, every subtle line carved into the jade walls.
Footsteps echoed in the outer hall and stopped at the door. The manager returned, this time accompanied by a middle-aged man in flowing azure robes embroidered with threads of gold and silver. His eyes glowed like banked embers beneath the ash, sharp and ancient. This was the master appraiser.
“Sir,” the manager said with a bow that bordered on reverence, “allow me to introduce Master Lei Huo, one of our most skilled evaluators at the Miter Auction House.”
Lei Huo inclined his head slightly, his voice deep, resonant, like the echo of a cavern.
“The honor is mine,” he said evenly. “I could feel the energy of your items even from beyond these walls… Allow me the privilege of evaluating them personally.”
Zhu Xian said nothing. With one smooth motion, he extended the same spiritual pouch toward the man.
Lei Huo accepted it with careful hands, placing it atop an obsidian table at the center of the room. With a precise motion, he traced symbols into the air, invoking a floating ring of spiritual light above the bag.
One by one, the contents rose into the air, shimmering as they turned in the light of the formation.
The first: a dark red spiritual core, pulsing with faint heat — from a Flame-Scaled Beast, Class 3, known for its fire affinity and stabilizing properties in strength-enhancing pills.
Next: a golden scale veined with streaks of deep crimson, glowing faintly. The mark of a Crimson-Backed Dragon Serpent, Class 5, an ancient creature said to haunt the eternal mists of the Celestial Forests. A priceless catalyst for the Dragon Vein Pill, a Grade 6 medicine that could awaken dormant bloodlines.
Then came a silver root, its surface coated with delicate crystalline threads — the Fallen Sky Root, a legendary herb said to grow only where lightning split the earth and celestial water bathed the soil for a hundred years. A critical ingredient for the Internal Purification Elixir, a Grade 4 pill that cleansed impurities and unlocked sealed meridians.
Finally, floating with an eerie, delicate grace, a black flower with five velvet petals, its center swirling with faint violet motes that spun like distant galaxies: the Midnight Star Flower. Extremely rare, used exclusively in high-grade refinements, such as the Cosmic Resonance Pill, a Grade 6 pill that heightened a cultivator’s connection to celestial energy.
Lei Huo’s brows knit in concentration as his spiritual sense washed over each treasure. Then, with a slight frown of awe, he spoke quietly to his assistant.
“Classification of materials:
– Class 3 core, compatible with Grade 2 to 4 pills.
– Class 5 scale, an exceptional elemental catalyst.
– Legendary root, highly reactive with spiritual liquids.
– And this flower…” He paused, his tone shifting, reverent. “This will be sealed in eternal jade. It must not be contaminated.”
The room fell silent, thick with the subtle, potent aura of rare treasures — and the quiet recognition that this man before them was anything but ordinary.