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A figure moved through the shadows cast by the warm glow of the street's oil lanterns. The figure, slender and small compared to the rogue cultivators around them, moved agilely through the crowd.
Their steps were ghostlike, evasive and hard to predict.
Amidst the shadows and light, the figure's hand moved for an instant. The motion was so fast it would be impossible to notice unless one was paying special attention to their movements.
That, of course, hadn't happened. So no one noticed the uncapped pill bottle the figure left behind.
'Seventh one.'
Qing Xuanling took a deep breath, trying to catch her breath. She slipped away from the crowd and hid behind an abandoned stall. She didn't forget to destroy the nearby lantern with a needle created from sword Qi.
Darkness quickly enveloped her.
She could finally relax a bit. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and leaned against a wall, gazing at the pitch-black sky.
Clearly, the Immortal Market, as a pocket space, had nothing like a sky or stars. There was only endless darkness. That's why there were so many oil lanterns on the streets.
"That was the last one..." Qing Xuanling smiled. "The others must have finished too. So in no more than twenty minutes, the excitement should begin."
The uncapped pill bottle she left earlier was the key piece in creating a riot at the underground auction. That bottle didn't contain a pill, but a medicinal extract with strong stimulating effects.
Naturally, it was a medicinal extract from a pill Qing Xuanling hadn't fully formed. The pill was the Open Heart Pill, a pill that released people's suppressed thoughts.
It was a pill used to reveal people's true behavior. Its stimulating effects were so potent that people would completely forget their surroundings and do whatever their hearts dictated, which is why it was banned in Ziyu City.
Xuan Dan had stumbled upon the pill's recipe during his studies and found it quite useful, so he practiced refining it a bit.
Now it proved exceptionally useful in the current situation.
Qing Xuanling used several sets of ingredients to form the medicinal extract instead of turning them into pills, as they wouldn't be very useful in that form. Instead, the extract would be more useful as is.
After all, the medicinal extract would dissipate into the air over time if not transformed into pills.
Normally, that wouldn't matter much, as the extract's effects would dilute too much when dispersed and offer little benefit. But things were different with the Open Heart Pill.
'Just a little of the extract won't do much to them, but what if they inhale it constantly for several minutes...? Though it won't have the same effect as consuming an Open Heart Pill, it will undoubtedly affect their rational thinking!'
Qing Xuanling had managed to create nearly sixty portions of the extract with the spiritual herbs she bought, which cost her almost all the spirit stones Qing Hanlin had given her. But it was undoubtedly worth the price.
The Immortal Market wasn't large at all; on the contrary, it was quite small. It only had a dozen streets around a plaza where the auction building stood, so the sixty portions of extract were enough to leave a significant medicinal effect in the air.
Qing Xuanling took a white pill from her pocket. It was an antidote pill. Obviously, she wouldn't be foolish enough to fall into her own trap.
Now, at last, the preparations were complete. Qing Xuanling walked slowly toward the auction venue. There were still a little over ten minutes until the auction began.
They had divided the tasks based on each team member's strengths and skills, and Qing Xuanling's task ended up being retrieving the reports Su Meiren wanted.
Though Qing Xuanling had the lowest cultivation of them all, she was also one of the most lethal members of the team. Sword cultivators were already killing machines, not to mention that the sword technique Qing Xuanling used most focused on killing the enemy at all costs.
Not to mention her excellent movement technique, making her a great choice for rapid strike missions.
She, of course, didn't back down from such a difficult task.
Her figure blended into the rogue cultivators, and she quickly reached the auction venue. She arrived at a plaza occupied mainly by a large, five-story building with no distinctive features.
It would be a building anyone would easily overlook if not for its location.
She followed the crowd of rogue cultivators and entered the first floor of the building. The upper floors, up to the fourth, were also set up for viewing the auction, but required a certain amount of spirit stones to access.
Something Qing Xuanling clearly wouldn't do.
She stood near the entrance and watched the rest take their seats in the hundreds of chairs facing the stage. Her eyes caught the silhouettes of some of her companions and several pill bottles placed in strategic positions.
They, obviously, hadn't forgotten to place the pill bottles in an enclosed, crowded area. On the contrary, they had placed seven bottles inside the building. With that, the riot was now a foregone conclusion. It was impossible for it not to happen.
She waited patiently for the ten minutes remaining until the auction started, with no intention of approaching her companions, and simply smiled beneath her bamboo hat as she watched the bloodshot eyes of some people.
It was clear the effects of the Open Heart Pill extract were affecting their minds.
The auction began right on time. Exactly ten minutes later, a portly man dressed in black and white robes emerged from an entrance behind the stage. His eyes were slits due to the folds of flesh on his face.
His steps were heavy as he advanced with an elegance that didn't match his figure toward the center of the platform.
"I see this season's auction has attracted many more bidders than usual, which pleases me greatly. I can even see the desire in your eyes, hehe!" The auctioneer spoke in a deep, magnetic voice that instantly drew everyone's attention.
Qing Xuanling narrowed her eyes. She could sense a strong aura from the man. She guessed he was at the peak stage. She sighed regretfully.
'Even if you're at the peak stage, you won't save yourself from dying at the hands of the masses.'
The auctioneer gave a brief introduction, thanked everyone for coming, and cracked some jokes to lighten the mood, but none of the rogue cultivators laughed; they just stared at him intensely.
Even he could feel something strange was happening, but despite his bad premonition, he had to continue the auction. Otherwise, the Ink Sword Sect would chop off his head and feed it to the pigs.
He suppressed his unease and smiled as he presented the first item.
"This auction features a more luxurious sponsorship than usual, so we'll begin with a powerful item!" The auctioneer gestured as two beautiful women brought out a mobile cart. "Many should recognize this item, especially our less orthodox friends!"
A strong aura of blood emanated from the cloth-covered item on the cart. It was so potent that even Qing Xuanling, standing far back, caught a strong rusty smell.
The presenter smiled at the curiosity in everyone's eyes and pulled the cloth away, revealing a human skull whose mouth served as a bowl for thousands of blood droplets exuding a potent, malicious blood energy.
"For those who don't know or recognize it, this skull contains a thousand drops of condensed blood!" The auctioneer's face flushed. "This is the perfect tonic for unorthodox cultivators, while also serving as an incredible tonic for body cultivators!"
"The starting price is one hundred spirit stones! Minimum increments of ten spirit stones!"
Qing Xuanling brought a hand to her mouth, feeling nauseous. If her sense of smell didn't fail her. The blood in that skull was human blood!
Though she had only killed a few humans, that was enough for her to recognize the smell of human blood. Especially when it was so condensed.
But that wasn't the worst part.
"One hundred fifty spirit stones!"
"One hundred sixty!"
"Two hundred!"
Bid after bid came in, each with a substantial increase. The rogue cultivators' eyes were red, filled with desire. Qing Xuanling didn't debate whether they knew if the condensed blood came from humans or not.
It was only natural that if she, after a few kills, could recognize it, they could too.
Unexpectedly, she let out a sigh of relief at that moment.
'I felt a bit guilty about using them for my goals... But it seems I should have included poison in those extracts.'
Her eyes were cold as she watched the auctioneer's excitement-flushed face.
"Good, good! The first item sells for four hundred spirit stones, the highest price ever reached for this item in the underground auction's history!" The auctioneer's face formed multiple folds as he laughed loudly. "Now, let's move to the second item of the day, some cultivation notes left by an ancient cultivator two hundred years ago...!"
The following items sold at increasingly higher prices as time passed.
Six hundred.
Eight hundred.
Even a high-grade, tier-1 spiritual herb sold for over a thousand spirit stones. Though it was a rare herb, the price was obviously highly inflated.
Even the auctioneer felt strange, but in his excitement, his greedy mind failed to fully grasp the sinister nature of the situation.
Everything exploded with the next item.
"The ninth item of this auction is, surprisingly, a low-grade Profound Rank technique!" The auctioneer's voice boomed. "Though it's only Profound Rank, this technique allows cultivation up to Foundation Establishment! A treasure for any rogue cultivator stuck at the peak of Qi Refinement! Starting price: two thousand spirit stones! Minimum increments of one hundred spirit stones!"
The entire building fell into a tomb-like silence for an instant, before a thunderous roar shook its very foundations.
"Three thousand spirit stones!"
"Three thousand five hundred!"
"Five thousand! Five thousand spirit stones! I have to take it!"
"No, it'll be mine...!"
The auctioneer's face no longer looked human from the massive grin he had while hearing the bids skyrocket.
But unbeknownst to anyone, the eyes of the person who made the first bid were dripping blood as they stared fixedly at the book in the center of the platform. His Adam's apple bobbed as an idea spun in his mind, tormenting him.
'It has to be yours. No matter what.'
The cultivator took a step forward, his face blank, and before he realized it, his Qi began circulating within his body.
BOOM!
A fire dragon suddenly erupted among the rogue cultivators, flying straight toward the auctioneer, causing an explosion that generated a massive cloud of dust!
The attack was so sudden the auctioneer had no time to defend himself and took it head-on.
The rogue cultivator who launched the attack leapt onto the platform, rushing toward the cultivation technique. His eyes lost in the flames of desire.
"It has to be mine! It's the only chance for my Dao path not to perish!"
The man's shout was like a spark in a dry forest, igniting a devastating blaze that engulfed the rest of the rogue cultivators. Their eyes lost all clarity as they too lunged forward.
"No, it must be mine, I just need a better technique to advance to the next realm!"
"Who cares about the technique, I want the auction's treasures! With them I can keep increasing my cultivation!"
"Die, all of you!"
The auctioneer's face lost all color. His hands moved nervously as he hurriedly searched for something in his scorched robes. He found it after a while.
What he found was a circular device, a communication artifact called an Earth Communicator.
He began moving his fingers over the surface, spinning the outermost wheel of the Earth Communicator several times until he finally input the required code.
"Lord, Lord! Come quickly, these damn rogue cultivators have suddenly gone mad! They started a-attacking the auction out of nowhere! We can't handle so many v-vermin with our current men! I beg you to intervene and save your subordinate!"
The auctioneer spoke nervously, stuttering several times. But unfortunately for him, he received no reply. The auctioneer's already ashen face darkened further, becoming unpleasant to look at.
"Haha, the heavens have abandoned us..."
A sword suddenly pierced the auctioneer's neck, cutting his words short. The rogue cultivator who killed him didn't give him a second glance before pulling his sword from the neck and continuing on his way.
His death, despite being at the peak of Qi Refinement, was pitiful and laughable...
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The commotion inside the Immortal Market didn't reach the outside immediately.
At that moment, in a hidden building, neatly dressed people sat at desks looking bored. They, the people in charge of the underground auction, were actually quite relaxed. They had been doing the same tasks for over a decade, and nothing serious had ever happened.
Even when rogue cultivators tried to steal the auction's treasures, the solution was quite simple: their lord would handle it. After all, he was a legendary Foundation Establishment cultivator.
So when alarm calls started coming through the Earth Communicators, the first thing they felt wasn't panic, but annoyance. The chief supervisor, a man with a venomous appearance, grabbed his communicator and input the leader's code.
But even after several seconds, no one answered. Panic began to reflect on his face at that moment.
"Everyone, to your positions! The boss isn't responding, the auction's security is in our hands! Protect the auction treasures with your lives, otherwise our heads will roll on the ground!"
The chief supervisor gave hurried orders while inwardly wondering where the grand boss was...
Above, in the sky over the underground auction's staff building, two people floated facing each other, sitting cross-legged.
They were a man and a woman. Their appearances couldn't be described as anything but worlds apart. While the woman was beautiful and refined, with a maternal and warm aura, the man, in contrast, stood two meters tall, and his face resembled an animal more than a human's.
Both stared fixedly into each other's eyes, caution lurking in the depths of their gazes.
They had been like this for at least two hours, staring without moving an inch. Not even their expressions had changed.
Until now.
The bear-faced man's eyebrow twitched slightly as he felt his Earth Communicator vibrate, meaning he was being called. A slight smile appeared on his face, but to others, it looked more like a grimace.
"Brat, you really played me well this time." The man's voice, deep and gravelly, was tinged with a hint of admiration. "I never imagined you'd ally with the brats from the Qing clan. I really thought I could land a solid blow on that damn Young Master. That guy has been quite a nuisance these past two years."
Su Meiren looked at the man with an expressionless face, but hidden deep in her eyes was a dark, sinister hatred.
"You're quite brazen, playing with such young children. Did you really plan to expend the Immortal Market's essence to attack those youths? Such an expenditure would take at least a decade to recover. I never thought you'd be so reckless."
The man laughed. "I had no choice, that damn Yenglan is too cunning. He knows perfectly well that the Ink Sword Sect has never managed to get Foundation Establishment cultivators to act inside the Immortal Market; at most, they can only forcibly expel people."
"But even he can't do anything against a lack of information. How could he imagine that for two years now, someone not belonging to the Ink Sword Sect, with far deeper knowledge than them, has been controlling the Immortal Market, managing to create a way for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to act in exchange for a hefty price? The state of the Qing clan after losing several geniuses would have been beautiful to witness!"
Su Meiren looked at him with disdain. That man had always been cunning and sinister. But above all, vindictive. And precisely because of that, he couldn't help but be mocked.
"You talk quite a bit for someone whose plans were completely ruined. I bet you never imagined I could track you to this city and even find your traces in less than a month." Su Meiren's smile was full of mockery. "I think your choice to use that appearance was a mistake. Your intelligence seems to have dropped a level because of it."
The man's smile didn't falter, but his eyes gleamed with a dark light as he stared at Su Meiren. The flesh on the man began to writhe, like threads of flesh constantly shifting his appearance. From a righteous-looking warrior to a scholar. Each of his different faces shared only one thing.
A smile full of contempt!
"You can stop trying to provoke me now, I'll give you what you want so much!" The man's laughter boomed. "Let's see how strong a Qi Refinement cultivator who has surpassed that barrier is! Let me see if you can compare to a glorious Foundation Establishment cultivator!"
An excited smile appeared on Su Meiren's face as purple mist began to rise from her.
"Finally, you dare to fight after this five-year hunt! I'll teach you the reason you've been running for so long!"
Two massive forces clashed, barely contained by a barrier covering the building they floated above and the surrounding area.