Grand Auction

After practicing how to control his puppet, Luo Xiong began to inscribe in the last remaining yellow talisman. His hand danced gracefully along the air, and a few seconds, he finally inscribed a mystical pattern. Then, he slowly and carefully poured his internal magic power into the talisman with full of cautiousness.

After he trained how control his internal magic power in these past few days, while he gaining some insights when he was comprehending the second volume of "Magic Devouring Cultivation Technique", his control of internal magic power slightly improved.

The mystical patterns on the talisman shone slightly as Luo Xiong continuously poured his internal magic power into the talisman which caused Luo Xiong's eyes to lit up as his originally emotionless face changed into a pleasant one.

When the mystical pattern within a talisman turned shiny, it means that you are slightly close to completion of creating talisman.

However, Luo Xiong's expression immediately froze as he suddenly made a mistake due to his unexpected excitement and so, the talisman exploded into dust causing his expression to be ugly.

It seems that when he wanted to create talisman next time, he needed to restrain his emotion and focuse all the time. If not, the slight change on one's emotion would affect the control of one's internal magic power. Luo Xiong naturally understood this principle. In any case he had now some improvements in regards to this talisman creation, and he was already close to creating his first talisman.

Luo Xiong stared at the table, and saw that there is not enough ink and a blank talisman paper to draw mystical patterns and create talisman.

When creating talisman, the quality of the talisman would reflect from three major factors. First is the material of the talisman. When creating one, the materials would naturally needed to be higher quality as possible so it would improve the ability of the completely created talisman. The second factor is about mystical pattern. If the mystical pattern is full of flaws and loopholes, the ability of the talisman would naturally plummet no matter how high the quality of the materials. The last major factor is of course, one's control in internal magic power. With these three major factors, as long as one of these three was mediocre, then the talisman was basically incomplete. There is a saying that: "The magic supports the mystical patten; the mystical pattern would create the ability of talisman; and talisman is the vessel of all."

(Author's note: The talisman is the 'material' of these three major factors.)

Which means that without internal magic power, the mystical pattern wouldn't work and when the mystical pattern is not working then the talisman is useless.

Luo Xiong sighed as he checked his Interspatial Ring and saw that there is not even a remaining Magic Stones inside. Looks like he needed to borrow some Magic Stones for a moment.

Hence, Luo Xiong left the training room and directly walked towards the courtyard of his younger sister. After that he knocked the door a few times before a creeking sound could be heard. Then, he saw his younger sister who had just finished her cultivation. The latter glanced at Luo Xiong in surprised as she excitedly said, "Brother, what's the matter? Do you have any problem that I could help?"

Luo Xiong nodded his head before opened his palm in front of his younger sister before he said, "Lend me some Magic Stones. Fifty of them would be sufficient."

"Yes!" Luo Yan cheerfully nodded as she returned to her room and a few moments, she walked towards the doorway with a Interspatial Ring in her hand.

"Here brother, there's at least ten mid-grade Magic Stones there." said Luo Yan as she carefully had over the Interspatial Ring filled with Magic Stones to the youth in front of her.

Luo Xiong picked the Interspatial Ring up as he transfered the Magic Stones within it into his own Interspatial Ring before he return it onto Luo Yan.

"I'll pay you back later," said Luo Xiong emotionlessly as he quickly left the courtyard while his face twitched slightly.

Meanwhile, Luo Yan hid in corner of the door, watching the disappearing silhouette of her brother. Her cheerful smile turned into disappointment.

"No matter what I will make you acknowledge me, brother." a hint of determination could be seen in her eyes as she took a last glance into the direction where Luo Xiong left, before she closed the door and returned to cultivation.

***

After he left his younger sister's courtyard, his face was still twitching thinking about the Magic Stones that she gave to him.

Mid-grade Magic Stones! Even in the Great Wu Empire, it is quite rare as only places where a dense and most concentrated Heaven and Earth Magical Energy would a mid-grade Magic Stone to condense. Magic Stones were divided into four different grades, and each of these has a difference of rarity. They are: low-grade Magic Stones, mid-grade Magic Stones, high-grade Magic Stones and finally, the saint-grade Magic Stones. For the lowest grade of Magic Stone, they could be found anywhere as long as it is the place with concentrated magical energy. The requirements of condensation would become higher and higher as the grade of Magic Stone increases. As such, the high-grade and saint-grade Magic Stones were truly rare here on Great Wu Empire. The value of a mid-grade Magic Stone was equal to ten low-grade Magic Stones. In other words, he have at least one hundred Magic Stones currently in his possession. His allowance was just a pitiful amount of forty low-grade Magic Stones while his younger sister was actually able to lend at least one hundred low-grade Magic Stones without blinking, it seems that the Luo Clan was still quite rich, though it couldn't be compare with other major clans.

***

The Great Wu Market is the largest trading grounds of the empire. Everyday, many strange or valuable items and elixirs could be seen in market so, if one had a luck, they would be able to ran across some sort of valuable item.

This trading ground was largely operated by the Golden Cloud Association which is the largest merchant association within the Great Wu Empire. Rumor has it that this merchant association also have branches outside the empire and its riches were truly terrifying that it could even be compared to the imperial clan.

Which is why, even the Wu Emperor didn't dare to be disrespectful in front of such a colossus existence which could call countless experts under the temptation of their treasures and money. Although they are like piggy bank, no one dared to actually enrage them unless one was fearless or has a power to contend with them.

Luo Xiong entered the Great Wu Empire, with a black robe covering his body and a bamboo hat. He glance at the lively street, which is overflowing with people. There are many vendors at the side as they shouted their products and prices with even a slight bragging to attract costumers.

In such a bustling trading grounds, it is no wonder that the Golden Cloud Association had already solidified its position as the 'overlord of money'. In just a matter of breaths, they would be able to earn hundreds of Magic Stones. Even Luo Xiong felt slightly envy. If he was the one in-charge of the association, then with the horrifying amount of treasures in association's vault, his cultivation speed would increase greatly. Unfortunately he could only gaze from afar.

He sighed in his heart as he suppressed his envy, before proceeding forward. He saw all sorts of strange items in the vendors. Some of them were necklaces which have the characteristics of dispelling evil spirits or some talismans. And, the most surprising was that this is just the outer region of the trading grounds. There are still the inner region and the core region which even more treasures could be found.

"Hey, have you heard about the auction in the inner region?"

"Yeah, I have heard that there is many valuable treasures that even a descendant of a major clan would drool."

"Amazing! If only I have enough Magic Stones to enter the inner region, I would definitely go there."

Suddenly, Luo Xiong heard a loud gossips while is interest was quite piqued. He knew that the Golden Cloud Association would hold a grand auction in the inner region once in a month. It is said that even some mystic-tier cultivation techniques could also be seen there, causing this auction to be highly popular. It seems to be a good idea to visit there.

After making a decision, he wandered throughout the streets for a bit before leaving the outer region and entered the inner region with a fee of ten low-grade Magic Stones which caused Luo Xiong to feel heartache.

The grand auction would open in two days so it is better to explore the inner region and gather informations about current affairs of the empire. After all, it is better to have a sufficient information to know what kind of grand schemes were being brewed—or in a realistic words, having know who is your obvious and hidden enemies that you needed to get rid. As such, Luo Xiong visited many restaurants and tried to eavesdrop the discussions of people there. After that, he rented a room in a cheap inn so that he could save Magic Stones.

Two days had passed by, and the day of grand auction's opening had arrived.

In these past two days, after he had sufficient informations, he didn't left the inn as he cultivated in his room as he frenziedly absorb the magical energy within a mid-grade Magic Stones.

The magical energy inside was truly dense, and even with the help of "Magic Devouring Ancient Technique", it still took a quite sometime before the Magic Stone began to dim.

Suddenly, Luo Xiong opened his eyes as an overwhelming amount of magical energy gushed forth. His magic space rapidly expanded while his internal magic power turned gold in the process.

High-stage Puppet Master Rank! He had finally broken through! With the overwhelming and rich magical energy inside the mid-grade Magic Stone, his cultivation became even faster than before.

Luo Xiong was also verge on breakthrough and even if he didn't absorb mid-grade Magic Stone, he would still advance into next level few days later.

He glance at his Interspatial Ring and saw that there are only remaining eight mid-grade Magic Stone as he felt his heart bleeding when saw this. Although he hadn't attend the grand auction before, he understood that he couldn't buy many things with just a meager amount of Magic Stones he had.

This caused Luo Xiong to sigh, then stood up from the bed and murmured, "Its time."

***

The Golden Cloud Association's grand auction is always held every month and there were always huge amount of high-level treasures and elixirs inside. Therefore, even descendants of major clans were going here, trying their luck to get an item that could help them boost their cultivation while the selection was nearing.

The unassuming Luo Xiong, who was currently wearing black robe and a bamboo hat, didn't cause any commotion when he arrived. The entrance to the grand auction was actually free, because, the crowd over here had already paid a extravagant cost of ten low-grade Magic Stones.

Luo Xiong sat within a corner and watched the auction house slowly filling up as a huge crowd were entering the place. He saw that there are even a luxurious-clothed group of people entering the auction. They were probably the descendants of major clans.

Suddenly, the whole auction fell silent as the crowd near the door was split in the middle, revealing a young woman in white dress.

She was very beautiful, with her oval face as her long hair swayed along the wind. Her skin was white and arms were slender. She is even wearing a beautiful jade with a name carved in it—'Yue'. The only thing that was different about her is the cold complexion which caused the crowd to stay away from her. From the looks of it, the crowd had already guessed what is her identity.

She is Wu Yanyue, the third princess of the imperial clan. She was always extremely cold and aloof, and even the rumors said that she is also cold towards her relatives. This rumor gave her the name 'Ice Goddess'. Nevertheless her talent in cultivation was truly high. She was also one of the best candidates in winning the selection of disciples two months later.

The ice goddess with her guards at the back proceeded to the grand auction's private rooms. Later after the ice goddess had entered the room, the huge crowd heaved a sigh of relief. Just the goddess' always cold expression could make one kneel.

But before the crowd could relax their tensed muscles, a group of people had also arrived.

Luo Xiong saw that they were extremely familiar. Those luxuriously-clothed young men seems to be the lackey of Chen Feng. He also saw Chen Feng who wore a humble expression, unlike his usual arrogance.

But he only stared at him a few moments before glancing at the young man in front of these group. He was wearing a rather ordinary white cloth, while a sword could be seen in his back. Unlike the handsome appearance of Chen Feng, this young man's aura emitted was extremely ferocious as though he was an ancient primordial beast.

"Chen Xiao…" Luo Xiong murmured as he already guessed the identity of this white-clothed young man at the front. He is Chen Xiao, the first and eldest young master of Chen Clan. He was extremely famous for being able to massacre a group of demonic beasts within Death Wilderness in such a young age. It is said the he is a battle freak who always wanted to pick up a fight. Just like Wu Yanyue, this Chen Xiao also had a high chance of winning the selection.

The Chen people also proceeded and enter a private room nearby the Wu Clan's. After that, many groups of major clan descendants had also entered the grand auction, filling up the remaining private rooms full.

After a while, the whole auction house was already full. Luo Xiong saw an old man walked towards the stage with a group of servants bringing some sort of items and treasures which were covered by red cloth.

The old man stood at the center, and showed his wrinkled and happy face. The old man said in a high-toned voice, "Thank you for attending this auction, especially the descendants in private rooms. This old man is extremely flattered."

The old man continued his speech for a whole minute before he reluctantly ended it as he said, "Since our guests were eager to find out what kind of treasures would be auctioned, then we will now start."

Then, he glanced at one of the servants nearby and one of them began to walk towards him with an item covered with red cloth.

The old man removed the red cloth revealing a red fiery armor with some sorts of mysterious patterns engraved within. The old man finally said, "This is Nirvana Armor which is forged by a very famous blacksmith of our Great Wu Empire hundred years ago. This Nirvana Armor could amplify the effects of fire-elemental talismans by twofolds. It could also withstand the power of a puppet controlled by a peak-stage Puppet Master. The initial price of the armor was five low-grade Magic Stones. The bidding must be two Magic Stones greater than last. Now who wanted to bid for this Nirvana Armor?"

After the old explained the features of Nirvana Armor, the huge crowd within the auction began to raise their hand as they bid.

"Seven low-grade Magic Stones!"

"Nine low-grade Magic Stones!"

"…"

***

The bidding continued until the final price were fifteen low-grade Magic Stones. Just hearing about this caused Luo Xiong to tremble a little. Such a horrifying price just for the first auction item! Looks like his meager eight mid-grade Magic Stones weren't enough if he wanted to buy the final auction item.

As the auction continued, many items were treasures and elixirs were revealed causing Luo Xiong to broaden his horizon. The treasures here were too dazzling that it almost blinded his eyes. He really envied those rich people who have a lots of spare Magic Stones to bid for them.

Luo Xiong also began to bid on some item which is a perfect materials for his talisman causing six mid-grade Magic Stones to remain in his pocket. Such a extravagant prices would really make his pocket empty if this continued.

At this moment, the old man at the center removed the red cloth as a black egg could be seen. Luo Xiong felt something weird but he couldn't pinpoint what it is.