Chapter 282 - The Bone Insect Auction House
Fierce beasts galloped over, and a golden chariot arrived behind them. It was brilliant and dazzling as it swept across the street like a blazing sun. It was pulled by eight vicious beasts, and was rus.h.i.+ng straight for the Bone Poison Insect Auction House.
The eight vicious beasts were all powerful and frighteningly fierce, not common cargo-hauling animals. They had horns on their heads and were covered by cold scales. There was a ruthless ferocity about them, for they were all beasts of prey that had been to the battlefield and seen their fair share of death.
“Who is this?!”
Someone cried out in surprise. A golden chariot like this could not be used by just anyone. Apart from the royalties, only the n.o.ble families of superior status were bold enough to bring it out.
“That’s Lord Huntian!” Someone recognized the insignia on the chariot, and his countenance immediately changed. He was clearly frightened by this aristocratic n.o.ble.
Elite soldiers escorted both sides of the chariot. They were all clad in black-armor, giving them a solemn and mighty appearance. Such conduct could only have been trained on the battlefield.
The eight vicious beasts did not make any roaring sounds when the golden chariot stopped. As they stood still, their enormous body released a remarkable pressure, making even the two flood dragons guarding the Bone Insect Auction House contract their pupils and become attentively alert.
With a hu sound, the curtain of the chariot was lifted, and out stepped a tall man. His golden-black armor was emitting a black glow as he stood there like a black mountain.
He was a young man of no more than thirty years old. The heavy stubble on his chin gave him a very masculine appearance. He had shockingly bright eyes, making him look remarkably aggressive.
“Lord Hun Tian is only twenty five years old, but he is already the lord of a region. He guards the border of our country. He has fought greatly against the forest creatures, producing outstanding results time and time again,” someone whispered.
This was an incredibly young lord with brilliant military achievements. Moreover, his surname was s.h.i.+, so he was a direct descendant of the s.h.i.+ n.o.bilities. Rumour had it that he was qualified to contend for the throne of the Human Emperor, and many had high hopes for him.
“Don’t dissapoint me. I’ve come specifically for that Blood Demon Ruler.” With large steps, he walked into the Bone Insect Auction House with a majestic gait. A gust of wind followed him in.
Such an important character from the bordering region even came to the capital! This naturally shocked everyone.
“It’s possible that he has arrived for the Human Emperor’s birthday.” Someone murmured in a soft voice.
s.h.i.+ Hao stood at the gate of the auction house and did not hurry inside. Instead, he remained outside, watching and listening to the people’s discussions. This way, he could see many influential people.
Petals showered down like glistening rain, filling the street with fragrance. A carriage drawn by several auspicious birds arrived from the air. The person inside must have been someone important, causing the crowd to shout in surprise.
“It’s Princess Sixteen!” The crowd looked on.
This princess was someone who the Human Emperor adored greatly, as well as one of the capital’s renowned figures in the Capital. She was a gentle and graceful lady with bright eyes and a beautiful smile. While accompanied by several ladies, she entered the auction house.
Other people then arrived in batches. They were all figures of great importance.
s.h.i.+ Hao was satisfied with the information he had gathered so far. Just by standing at the gate and listening to other people’s whispers, he managed to obtain information on some of the Capital’s well known people. This was incredibly valuable to him.
Finally, he also entered the Bone Insect Auction House. The s.p.a.cious interior was richly ornamented and incredibly dazzling. The various displays were even more amazing.
People entering the hall were greeted by a golden skeleton that was ten zhang in height and twenty to thirty zhang in length. Light from symbols circled around the skeleton splendidly, and an intimidating malicious aura was spreading out from it.
It was the complete skeleton of a vicious beast that was well-preserved. The primordial symboled bone was especially impressive, as it provided divine energy for the entire auction house.
It was a Yazi[1. A type of chinese dragon 睚眦]!
To everyone’s surprise, the skeleton belonged to a Yazi. There was a saying that this kind of vicious beast would seek revenge for the smallest grievance. They were renowned for their savage behavior during the archaic times. Even the deities tried to avoid them, so no one wanted to cross them.
Although the skeleton was not from a pure blood Yazi, the fluctuation from the symbols alone was enough proof of its incredible power. The fact that it was merely displayed here instead of being refined into the mightiest magical instrument was astonis.h.i.+ng enough.
The hall was swamped with people. Too many mighty beings had arrived from all kinds of places. They were of all genders and all age groups, but all of them possessed serious connections.
Those who could get access into this place were usually members of the important families, but casual cultivators could be spotted as well. Common youths dressed like s.h.i.+ Hao were rarely seen though.
People of his age here were either disciples of great clans or descendants of the n.o.bilities, for the standard of this auction house was extremely high. Common folks found it hard to get involved in the bidding, because there were no ordinary goods for show.
s.h.i.+ Hao looked around with curious eyes and watched everyone closely. Seeing that some people did not take their seats in the hall, but entered compartments instead, he also copied them.
“Little brother, are you sure you want to choose this VIP lounge?” A young steward asked with a fake smile.
“Why? What’s the problem?” s.h.i.+ Hao asked back with an honest tone.
He had already reached a rosewood door and pushed it open. He took a glance inside and was immediately dazzled by the interior. The room was furnished with all sorts of glistening materials and clearly luxurious.
“It’s very pricy in there and common folks dare not enter. Are you… sure you want to go in?” Asked the steward with a hint of contempt on his face. He was wearing a s.h.i.+ny silk uniform.
Some people would judge others by their appearance, and such undesirable customs existed everywhere. The steward saw that the youth was wearing clothes made from animal hides and found him too shabby to enter the VIP rooms.
“Is this VIP room vacant? I’ll take it.” Just then, a youth walked near and pointed at the room in front of s.h.i.+ Hao. His silver armour was radiating with precious light.
Behind him were a few other unordinary boys and girls ranging from fifteen to twenty years old. The boys possessed heroic spirits, and the girls possessed beautiful appearances.
“Young master.” The servant quickly nodded his head and bowed. This group of people was definitely not ordinary. They were all descendants of the capital’s n.o.bility, especially the youth in front of him, who was Lord Ximing’s descendant.
“I’ve already reserved it.” s.h.i.+ Hao pushed open the door and left. His temperament was firm, and he would never allow himself to feel wronged. His voice was low and decisive. He had even killed the spiritual bodies of supreme experts, so he couldn’t care less when faced with this group.
“You…” Lord Ximing’s descendant looked at with with some shock. A youngster wearing such plain clothes actually dared to compete with him.
“Little brother, please just leave. I don’t think this is somewhere you could enter. If you are here purely for the experience, then just enter the main lobby. There might be some room for you there.” The steward had an unnatural smile on his face as he gestured for him to leave.
“Isn’t it just a VIP lounge? I’ve even gone to the seafloor Dragon Palace, yet you still want to brag in front of me how luxurious this stupid room is. Disgusting!” s.h.i.+ Hao shot out a look of contempt before berating the steward, “Do you understand? You are like a dog looking down on a human.”
“You… What are you saying?!” The steward’s face was thoroughly red. Even though this was his intent, after the other party pointed it out bluntly, he still couldn’t help but be ashamed into anger.
The young boys and girls on the side were all extremely shocked as well. Meanwhile, that silver-robed young master also stopped. He did not try to argue with s.h.i.+ Hao either, because he had a feeling that the other party wasn’t someone worth provoking.
“Entering this place means that you must offer up at least five valuable objects. Can you meet this requirement?” The steward shouted. He had a look of despise on his face as he acted somewhat arrogantly.
Dong
Before he could even finish his speech, the area in front of him lit up brilliantly with multicolored light. It was so dazzling that he couldn’t open his eyes, and soon after, his nose felt intense pain, as it was struck with a brick. He immediately cried out miserably before falling on his back.
On the side, the young men and women’s mouths were opened wide from shock. Who was this fellow? How could the brick he brought out be so blue and brilliant? It almost seemed like… Ocean Blue Essence!
Using such an object to strike someone, this was just too extravagant! Who was this person?!
After the steward cried out miserably, he also saw the chunk of Ocean Blue Essence on the ground. He had worked at the auction house for quite a while, so he had definitely seen something like this before. However, back then, it was just a small piece, yet it was still auctioned for a shockingly high price.
Yet now, this youth actually threw out such a huge piece at his face. This was truly an extravagant and arrogant action! He made an error in judgement this time.
“Waiter, bring wine.” s.h.i.+ Hao hollered from within the room.
I’m not a waiter! The steward wanted to scream out, but he suppressed the urge. He picked up the rare and precious Ocean Blue Essence before respectfully carrying it down. He then quickly grabbed some fine wine.
He felt extremely depressed, but he had no choice but to carefully wait on s.h.i.+ Hao.
The few others on the side were somewhat stupefied, especially that silver-robed young master. He opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say in this situation. That piece of rare Ocean Blue Essence alone could probably even make his grandfather Lord Ximing jump. This wasn’t something that he could bring out, let alone use to smack someone.
What happened here alarmed the Bone Insect Auction House. An appraisal master immediately hurried over, and after confirming that this was truly Ocean Blue Essence, his eyes immediately ignited with pa.s.sion. He immediately loudly rebuked the steward before bringing over several elders. They continuously apologized, but more importantly, they asked s.h.i.+ Hao if he was going to auction off this amazing stone.
“Aren’t the items being auctioned off already set in stone? Can you really still add more items?” s.h.i.+ Hao was surprised.
“Special items will naturally be treated in a special manner.” An elder excitedly replied.
“Then that’s fine. During the auction, if I don’t have enough money on me, then I’ll let you guys auction it.”
The eyesore ‘waiter’ left after being scolded by these elders. In his place were two beautiful girls that poured wine for s.h.i.+ Hao. They treated him like an honorable guest.
The room was extremely luxurious. All types of objects created from rare stones were flickering with radiance, but next to the Ocean Blue Essence, they immediately seemed rather plain.
One side of the room was empty. After pulling up the art scroll, the guest would immediately face the auction lounge and clearly see everything. The guest could then easily partic.i.p.ate in the auction.
Soon, the auction started. There was an elder and an alluring woman that collaboratively managed this event. The very first object that was brought out already attracted s.h.i.+ Hao’s attention.
After taking a careful look, he became shocked. His heart began to jump continuously.
“True primordial record?” He widened his eyes. The sparkling white piece of bone was flowing with a gentle l.u.s.ter; it was just too similar.
However, it was a damaged piece of bone and incomplete. Quite a bit of it was missing. It was only a fourth of the true primordial record, but its material was extremely similar.
“This is a wonderful bone, and its firmness is rarely seen throughout the world. No matter the methods used, it still remains undamaged. It has to be a piece of heavenly bone,” said the elder on stage.
“What? Heavenly Bone?!” A sensation immediately broke out within the auction house lobby. Everyone’s eyes began to flicker with greed, as if multiples streaks of lightning were flas.h.i.+ng through the room.
“Is it really a heavenly bone? If that’s true, then I am willing to pay any cost. I have my mind set!” A woman’s voice sounded. Even though the words were a bit overbearing,
“The auction has just started, yet a heavenly bone has already appeared. It was not saved for later like other divine objects. The auction this time is truly shocking!” The crowd sighed in admiration.
s.h.i.+ Hao naturally paid close attention to this item. He had used his divine gaze a long time ago to carefully examine that pierce of sparkling white bone. It was just too similar, as if it was identical to the True Primordial Record.
He was moved on the spot. He had to obtain this kind of object no matter what. He couldn’t let it fall into the hands of anyone else!
This time, he was extremely confident, because he obtained many rare materials from the ocean. In particular, his gains from the seabed mermaid race city were even more plentiful.