This was a season with ample rain in Black Ink Planet. It had been cloudy for several days, and on this day, rain poured down from the sky.
The rain fell on the ground, filing the entire world with an indistinct feeling. Su Ming was sitting cross-legged in one of the towers of the Yu Family while looking at the rain outside his window. There was a scroll made of jade slips placed in front of him. On it was the map of Black Ink Planet, the forces of power in it and the locations of each auction hall.
In fact, there was a large portion of Divine Essence Star Ocean depicted on that jade slip scroll as well. However, while that portion might seem large, in truth, compared to the vast Divine Essence Star Ocean, the area drawn on the map by the members of the Yu Family over the countless years was just a small part of that huge galaxy.
Su Ming had picked up the scroll, but he did not immediately look at it. Instead, he looked at the rain outside the window with a pensive look in his eyes.
"The elephant has two forms. One of them is its physical form, and the other is the illusory form on the scale. The physical body of the elephant on the scale is like that of the form of the Heavenly Dao, not the power of the Antecedental Spirit. The thought of weighing this elephant is like a fantasy, and it can allow you to weigh… this elephant for the span of three breaths!"
The words spoken when the malicious spirit weighed the elephant while he was in the chamber echoed in Su Ming"s mind.
"This sentence isn"t that easy to understand, but now that I think about it, this "elephant has two forms" means that it has a physical and an illusory form. The physical form is the elephant"s real body, and the illusion… is the scene that people usually speak of. In some sense, this elephant is not referring to a living creature… but a form of atmosphere and environment." A sparkle appeared in Su Ming"s eyes.
"If that"s the case, then I can understand the second and third sentences. Weighing the elephant"s real body is like weighing the supreme lord of the Gate of Dao race. But all life forms who have yet to become Antecedental Spirits are unable to do this, only those who are Antecedental Spirits can do so.
"The third sentence can also be understood as weighing an atmosphere and an illusion, but what does the final "it can allow you to weigh this elephant for the span of three breaths" mean..?" Su Ming remained silent for a moment before he shook his head and buried the question in his heart.
His gaze fell on the jade slip scroll, and he began looking through it.
There was a storage bag beside Su Ming. Once every few breaths, he would put his hand deep into that storage bag, then bring out a crystal to place it on the scroll. That crystal would flash a few times before fusing into the scroll.
The jade slip scroll was incredibly mysterious. Perhaps it was because it had been around for a long time, but it would be damaged every time someone examined it. Because of this, it would need to be nourished by crystals once in a while if its contents were examined.
There was a veil on Yu Rou"s face, who was nearby. Her temperament currently was greatly different from before. In fact, even the ripples of power from her cultivation base were incredibly weak. She looked as if she was only in the initial stage of World Plane Realm and not the later stage of World Plane Realm, which she originally had.
She sat on her heels by Su Ming"s side quietly. She was sitting in the mid of the green smoke spreading out from the censers in the room, which gave her an otherworldly feeling.
There was a pot of wine boiling in front of her. She lifted the pot up with her fair hands and poured the contents gently into a wine cup before she placed it by Su Ming, who was still reading through the jade slip scroll.
Her appearance and her actions made it look as if she was a maidservant.
This was supposed to be a very artistic scene. Faint green smoke swirled about in the air, an otherworldly maidservant served by her master"s side, rain poured outside the window, the rus.h.i.+ng of it echoed in the air like the noise of nature… but in this scene, there were three things that did not fit in.
The bald crane was rolling about on the ground with a displeased look, and it was doing so nonstop…
"Crystals! You promised me that you would give me crystals! Y-y-you… You"re going overboard! There"re so many crystals, give me some! Oh, my crystals… Kill me… Those are all my crystals…
"You… ah… How can you put crystals in there? Oh heavens, this is the 379th piece. Those are all crystals, sparkling 379 crystals, you know?!" As the bald crane screamed shrilly, it stared straight at Su Ming. When it saw him placing the crystals one by one into the jade slip scroll as he read it, the bald crane almost went mad.
However, Su Ming completely ignored its shrill screams, and even Yu Rou did not bother with it. She looked at the boiling wine with an elegant expression on her face, as if she did not hear a single thing.
The other thing that did not fit in… was a big yellow dog.
It was lying not too far away and staring at Yu Rou with a hostile look, occasionally letting out threatening growls. It was as if Yu Rou"s existence made it sense some form of threat, for some unknown reason.
"d.a.m.n it, how could a woman as pretty as my young mistress be around here? Judging by Su Ming"s actions, he has clearly acknowledged her d.a.m.ned presence! I can"t allow this!" Thoughts fleeted through the big yellow dog"s head as it continued thinking about what its young mistress would do if she was around. The threatening glare and hostile look became increasingly more p.r.o.nounced.
The final thing that did not fit in was Yu Chen Hai.
He sat calmly by the side, having been the one who gave Su Ming the jade slip scroll. Occasionally, he would look at Su Ming, but most of the time, he would sneak peeks at Yu Rou.
He constantly felt that there was something familiar about that woman, but for some unknown reason, he could not remember where he had seen her before, but this was not the main point. It, of course, was that even though the woman wore a veil over her face and covered most of her looks, preventing others from seeing her clearly, there was still a beauty about her that caused other people"s hearts to pound in excitement.
This beauty caused Yu Chen Hai"s heart to race.
"This shouldn"t be. With my level of cultivation, this shouldn"t happen, but why is this woman giving me a sense of closeness. It"s precisely because of this sense of closeness that I"m feeling such a great urge in me."
It was with great difficulty that Yu Chen Hai quelled the feeling in his heart. He no longer dared to look at the woman, worried that he would make Su Ming misunderstand him. That was why even though he still wanted to look at her, he had to force that urge down.
"Senior Su, there are three days left before I have to host my auction…" he quickly said in a low voice.
Su Ming"s status had already changed in the Yu Family. To the others, he was a guest, but the members of the family were not privy to the real truth.
"I understand." Su Ming nodded. He picked up a crystal and placed it on the jade slip scroll to continue reading it.
"About that… if you have time, should we look at the other family"s auctions and get familiar with how an auction operates?" Yu Chen Hai quickly asked.
Su Ming looked as if he did not hear his words and did not answer.
Yu Chen Hai smiled wryly, not knowing what he should say next. He instinctively looked towards Yu Rou again, and at the moment he looked at her, she lifted her head and cast him a glance as well. Then, for some unknown reason, the hint of a faint smile appeared on her lips under the veil.
When Yu Chen Hai saw that smile, his heart trembled. Then, unable to control himself, he became infatuated with her as he continued looking at her.
With the three discordant elements in the picture, the atmosphere in the tower became slightly strange. Su Ming continued reading the jade slip scroll, his right hand reaching deep into the storage bag to take out crystals from time to time. He had already read through most of the jade slip scroll, and what remained were a few things that had happened in Black Ink Planet during the past ten thousand years. At that moment, he picked up a crystal, but just as he was about to place it on the jade slip scroll, his right hand came to an abrupt halt.
As his right hand stopped moving, a feeling as if something was being held back immediately appeared in the room. This feeling was instantly noticed by Yu Rou. The bald crane was also momentarily stunned and stopped rolling out while screeching, but instead looked at Su Ming with surprise.
Even the big yellow dog which had been looking at Yu Rou with a hostile expression blinked a few times before it looked at Su Ming.
Only Yu Chen Hai remained besotted and could not get himself out of it.
"Lie Shan Family rose to power in Black Ink Planet ten thousand years ago. The Progenitor of the family is Lie Shan Xiu. His origins are mysterious and unfathomable, and his level of cultivation is incredibly high… He is a man of great talent and vision, and in ten thousand years, he brought his family into the list of those who can host middle-sized auctions."
This was the sentence Su Ming saw in the jade slip.
"Lie Shan Xiu is an ambitious and formidable person. His origins might not be known, but he must definitely be a renowned person in the galaxy from which he came. However… even after the numerous investigations conducted on him, not a single clue can be found about this person from Divine Essence Star Ocean or the four Great Galaxies in the world outside…"
Su Ming had a calm expression on his face, but a huge storm was raging in his heart. In fact, that storm had turned into loud, thunderous booms that roared and reverberated in his mind. His calmness was just a facade.
He might have had a few speculations previously, but when he truly discovered it, he could not find it in himself to remain calm.
This was why even his right hand had come to a pause when he was about to place the crystal on the jade slip scroll, and even some of his presence spread out slightly, creating that feeling as if something was being held back in the tower.
Several breaths later, that feeling evaporated. Su Ming placed the crystal on the jade slip scroll and continued reading the scroll. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he closed his eyes.
"Lie Shan Xiu…"
"Yu Chen Hai, didn"t you mention that you wanted to look at the other family"s auctions earlier?" Su Ming opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Yu Chen Hai, but when he looked over, he frowned, and a strange expression gradually crept up his face.
At that moment, Yu Chen Hai was looking at Yu Rou with a stupefied face. The besotted expression in his eyes could be felt clearly by all.
As for Yu Rou, she remained as calm as ever, as if she was completely not bothered by… how a member of the younger generation in her family was looking at her in such an infatuated manner.
Su Ming let out a dry cough, and Yu Chen Hai shuddered, snapping out of his daze. When he saw that Su Ming was looking at him, he instantly felt cold sweat drench his robes. His face turned pale. He could already imagine what would happen, and fear rose in his heart.
He did not know what had come over him. When the maidservant smiled at him, he had lost his senses and sank into that infatuated state. When he snapped out of it, intense fear immediately filled his heart. He was afraid that Su Ming would be displeased.
"Senior… I…" Yu Chen Hai was just about to explain as he was filled uneasiness.
Su Ming cut off Yu Chen Hai"s explanations and asked faintly, "Does Lie Shan Family have an auction?"
"Lie Shan Family is a family that can host middle-sized auctions, and they host small auctions once every three days. There will be one today." Yu Chen Hai quickly nodded.
"Let"s go. Lead the way, we"ll go to Lie Shan Family"s auction."
Su Ming stood up. When he spoke, he walked towards the entrance. The bald crane blinked and exchanged glances with the big yellow dog. They immediately moved at the same time and followed Su Ming.
Yu Rou stood up incredibly elegantly and put away the pot of wine, then sashayed behind Su Ming.
Yu Chen Hai let out a huge breath of relief in his heart at that moment and quickly followed after. He looked at Yu Rou"s curvaceous body and suddenly remembered how rude he had been, though Su Ming did not seem to be bothered by it, and this maidservant who appeared out of nowhere also… did not seem to mind.
Yu Chen Hai looked as if he had been bewitched. His heart raced, but he did not dare think too much into it and simply followed Su Ming out of the house into the rain.