Chapter 104: Thousand Gold Auction House
It was already afternoon by the time Lin Dong reached Yan City. After entering the city, he found a secluded inn to rest and in the meantime, took the opportunity to ask around about the various happenings in Yan City. After all, since he was new, Lin Dong was generally not familiar with the city.
Within a room in the inn, Lin Dong sat on the bed with his eyes tightly shut. A long time later, he slowly opened his eyes as a pale shade of white colored his face. Just before this, he had entered into the Stone Talisman Spiritual Domain and utilised the Mind Millstone to cultivate his Mental Energy.
Even though he had experienced that intense pain multiple times, it was still extremely unbearable for him.
Lin Dong removed a jade bottle from the Qiankun Bag nestled on his lap. Within the jade bottle was a pale white pill. It was refined from the Elixirs he had purchased in Qingyang Town and had a slight restorative effect on his Mental Energy. However, as he had already consumed several of them and this was his last remaining pill.
“Looks like I’ll have to go to the “Thousand Gold Auction House” tomorrow to see if I can find some Mental Energy recovery elixirs…” As he gazed at that lonely pill, Lin Dong softly sighed. It was rather easy to find ordinary Elixirs, yet this type of Mental Energy recovery elixirs were extremely rare. He had thoroughly searched throughout Qingyang Town, yet he only managed to find a meagre few. Furthermore, their quality were all rather low.
The “Thousand Gold Auction House” Lin Dong had mentioned was the biggest auction house in Yan City. This auction house was owned by one of the top three factions in Yan City, the Thousand Gold a.s.sociation, and its scale and reputation was on a completely different level from Qingyang Town’s bazaar. He would surely be able come across some of the Elixirs that he now urgently needed there.
With these thoughts in mind, Lin Dong lightly exhaled before lying down to sleep.
The next day, Lin Dong got up very early. He slightly tidied himself up before exiting the inn and made a beeline for the “Thousand Gold Auction House” at the centre of the city.
The “Thousand Gold Auction House” was famous not only in Yan City, but even in the entire Tiandu Province. After wandering around for half a day, Lin Dong finally arrived at the vicinity of the “Thousand Gold Auction House”.
When he first caught sight of the “Thousand Gold Auction House”, Lin Dong could clearly feel its majestic atmosphere. Compared to this, Qingyang Town’s bazaar was indeed too shameful.
The densely packed crowds looked like ants as they constantly streamed into the “Thousand Gold Auction House”. Such a formidable popularity was comparable only to the time when the “Qingyang Town Hunt” was held, and even so, the latter would still find itself lacking.
Lin Dong stood outside the auction house and rubbed his face, trying hard not to let himself look too much like a country b.u.mpkin. Finally, he laughed at himself before he squeezed his way into the crowd, walking towards the inner part of the auction house.
The Thousand Gold Auction House was split into outer and inner sections. Though the outer section was the largest, the items exchanged there were not considered very valuable. This was because most of the better items were auctioned off in the inner section. Of course, one would require substantial funds to successfully bid and acquire one’s desired item there.
Lin Dong walked about in the dazzling outer section of the auction house. Here, even a Grade 4 Elixir was not considered rare. As for Elixirs with Mental Energy recovery properties, Lin Dong also saw a few. However, most of them about Grade 3 quality.
If it were the past, this kind Grade 3 Elixir with the ability of recovering Mental Energy would be a pa.s.sable find and be put to use. However, time was a rather pressing issue for Lin Dong now. Swiftly reaching the 2nd Seal Symbol Master stage was his highest priority. Therefore, the Elixirs that he chose needed to be as good as possible. And so, after taking a stroll around the entire outer section and not finding any Elixir of interest, he straight-away headed towards the inner section of the auction house.
At the entrance of the inner section of the auction house, Lin Dong was stopped by a guard. After being informed by the latter that he needed to hand over ten Yang Yuan Stones, Lin Dong’s face involuntarily turned black. A ten Yang Yuan Stone fee just to enter, this Thousand Gold a.s.sociation was truly outrageous.
After cursing in his mind, Lin Dong had no choice but to pay ten Yang Yuan Stones. Only then, did the guard withdraw. Just as Lin Dong planned to enter, a sudden disturbance was suddenly heard from behind.
When he sensed this disturbance, Lin Dong could not help but somewhat curiously turn his head. Soon after, a path opened up in the crowd as a few figures appeared in his sights.
Among these figures, there was one which was particularly attention grabbing. Naturally, it was a woman dressed in a red gown. Her skin was white as snow and on her peach flower-like face, hung a graceful and magnanimous smile, an especially touching sight. She looked no different from a woman at the prime of her youth, yet her ample curves and graceful posture caused her to give out a mature charm that captivated others.
To her side, a tall woman clothed in green followed. This woman was also extremely beautiful. Like the former, she had an extremely beautiful face, however, she seemed a little more indifferent than the former. Therefore, in comparison, she seemed a little unripe. Nonetheless, she had a distinct aura and definitely surpa.s.sed Xie Yingying from the Xie Family.
The two women were both extreme beauties. As they walked together, they looked just like a pair of flowers. Having appeared together in this place, they naturally drew the attention of the crowd. From the heated yet respectful gazes from the crowd, it seemed likely that these two women stemmed from a remarkable background.
“Manager Su and the little miss are becoming more and more beautiful, the two of them practically look like sisters…”
“Heh heh, I wonder which lucky guy will marry them in future. Such beauties, they are simply…”
“Are you courting death? Don’t you know how scary Manager Su is?”
“I am just saying… It’s just empty words…”
When he heard the guards at the auction talking among themselves, Lin Dong’s interest was slightly piqued. It seems like these two girls belong to the Thousand Gold a.s.sociation. His gaze swept across them once before he decided to look away. After all, he was not too interested in their ident.i.ties. Right now, his primary concern was to obtain some Elixirs that can restore his Mental Energy. Therefore, his footsteps no longer paused as he walked into the inner section of the auction house.
When Lin Dong entered the auction house, it seemed like there were already several people there. As he turned to glance at the crowd inside the auction, he softly muttered to himself before he took out a straw hat from his Qiankun Bag. Placing it over his head, he found a spot near the center before he sat down.
Even though this place was not Qingyang Town and no one should recognize him, he did not want to attract any unnecessary attention. Thus, it was best to be a little cautious.
The auction had not begun yet when Lin Dong took his seat. However, he was in no hurry. Closing his eyes, he silently rested as he awaited the beginning of the auction.
After closing his eyes to rest for a while, a commotion suddenly erupted behind him. This time, Lin Dong did not even have to turn his head as he had deduced that it was likely brought on by those two women from before. Hence, he could not be bothered to turn his head. However, he suddenly felt the Destiny Soul Symbol in his Niwan Palace gently vibrate.
This discovery caused Lin Dong to be slightly shocked. Promptly, he turned his head towards the back as his eyes swept across those two women before they finally stopped at an elderly man standing beside them, dressed in grey robes.
“Oh, it’s him…”
When Lin Dong saw that grey robed elderly man, he exclaimed in his heart. This was none other than Grand Master Ruo, who had previously given Lin Dong the first three chapters of “Divine Movement Chapter”. Therefore, the reason why his Mental Energy undulated was likely because he and Grand Master Ruo both practised “Divine Movement Chapter”.
As he stared at that elderly man in grey, a glint flashed in Lin Dong’s eyes. However, he did not plan to go over and slowly retracted his gaze. Even though he owed Grand Master Ruo a debt of grat.i.tude, because of the Mysterious Stone Talisman, he always felt that it would be best to remain prudent.
“Hmm?”
Just as Lin Dong retracted his gaze, that elderly man dressed in grey robes also gently gasped in surprise as he quickly scanned the crowd in the auction house. He had also felt a trace of Mental Energy vibration. However, after searching for a while, he did not find anything. Promptly, his eyebrows furrowed.
“Grand Master Ruo, what happened?” Beside him, the elegant lady dressed in red asked him somewhat curiously after she witnessed this situation.
“Haha, it’s nothing…” The elderly man in grey shook his head. That sensation that he experienced previously was probably just an error on his part. With a wave of his hand, he said: “The auction is about to start, let’s head to the VIP booth.”
“Yes.”
Towards Grand Master Ruo, even the lady, who commanded a high status in the Thousand Gold a.s.sociation, had to be respectful. Immediately, she nodded and was all smiles as she led him towards the other side of the auction house.
When he saw them leave, Lin Dong stealthily heaved a sigh of relief. Just now, he could clearly feel Grand Master Ruo’s Mental Energy sweep across his body. However, now that Lin Dong had trained at the Mind Millstones, his Mental Energy was exceptionally st.u.r.dy. Therefore, even Master Ruo could not detect it.
“Grand Master Ruo’s Mental Energy is truly powerful. He is probably at the 3rd of 4th Seal stage.”
Just now, when Grand Master Ruo scanned the room, Lin Dong could clearly feel the might of the former’s Mental Energy. In the past, he had scant knowledge of Mental Energy, thus, like a newborn baby, he held no fear and respect towards the former. However, now that his Mental Energy prowess has grown, he finally understood how powerful that old man was. It was no wonder these well-respected women were so polite towards him.
“Dong!”
While these thoughts circled in Lin Dong’s heart, a crisp bell sound echoed out in the auction house. Immediately, the entire place became extremely heated. Meanwhile, Lin Dong’s eyes were also directed towards the auction stage. After all, he knew that the Thousand Gold a.s.sociation’s auction was about to begin…
This was the first time Lin Dong was going to experience an auction of this scale. Hence, deep down, he was looking forward to find out: What manner of precious objects would appear?