txolops Chapter 146 The Hermit of the Heavenly Mirror
Chapter 146 The Hermit of the Heavenly Mirror
Jin Qing was already waiting in the private room. Upon seeing Luo Ming enter, he immediately stood up to greet him with his usual warm smile: "Brother Wang, after several years of seclusion, you are even more impressive than before! Judging from your composed aura, your cultivation must have improved again!"
"Brother Jin, you flatter me. It's just to consolidate my minor cultivation." Luo Ming returned the greeting with a cupped hand and sat down opposite him.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the conversation naturally turned to the upcoming auction.
"Brother Wang, the timing for your departure from the pass is perfect." Jin Qing lowered his voice, a mysterious look on his face.
"To be honest, the elder behind me has some connections in the Merchant Alliance and has leaked some information. There are really a lot of good things at this auction! Among the final treasures, there is a magic weapon called the 'Eight Gates Golden Light Mirror.' It is said to be a replica of the Heavenly Mirror Hermit's natal magic weapon. Although it is only a replica and has not been nurtured by a cultivator's magic power, its power is already far superior to ordinary magic weapons."
"The Eight Gates Golden Light Mirror, could it be the magic weapon of the Heavenly Mirror Hermit who dominated the Chaotic Star Sea for hundreds of years? I heard that he was besieged and killed by the Star Palace." Luo Ming was extremely shocked.
He knew that legendary figure and was very tempted by the Eight Golden Light Mirrors, but Luo Ming knew in his heart that such a treasure was definitely not for him.
"That's right," Jin Qing nodded, then whispered to Luo Ming, "Although the news that Tianjing Sanren was killed in an attack by my Star Palace is true, according to what I heard from the elders of my clan, it seems that's not the case."
"There's such a thing? What happened next?" Luo Ming stared at the other person with wide eyes.
Having known each other for so long, Jin Qing was already very familiar with the other person's personality. Seeing the empty teacup in front of him, he quickly refilled it.
Seeing Luo Ming's eager expression, Jin Qing nodded with satisfaction and said, "Back then, the Mirror Hermit somehow obtained a legacy and actually cultivated to the late Nascent Soul stage as a rogue cultivator. His strength was unfathomable..."
After listening to the other party's account, Luo Ming learned some of the secrets from back then. It turned out that after Tianjing Sanren killed the previous Star Palace Master, he was also seriously injured. He was besieged by the new Star Palace Master and his men, and was eventually trapped on a deserted island. Tianjing Sanren was no match for the enemy's superior numbers, and had no choice but to self-destruct his natal magic weapon and physical body. He escaped with only his severely damaged nascent soul and never appeared again.
Xinggong spent such a great price but failed to defeat their opponent in the end, so naturally they wouldn't publicize the matter. After that battle, Tianjing Sanren never appeared again, and gradually some rumors began to circulate that Tianjing Sanren had been directly killed by Xinggong.
As Luo Ming listened to the other party recount the secrets, he couldn't help but sigh that these powerful forces knew far more secrets than he had ever known.
He suddenly remembered the two rare items he needed and asked, "Brother Jin, do you know anything about 'Geng Essence' or 'Xuanming True Water' in this auction?"
"Geng Essence? Xuanming True Water?" Jin Qing was taken aback upon hearing this, then shook his head with a wry smile, lowering his voice even further, "Brother Wang, these two things you asked about are both legendary top-tier materials. Geng Essence, in particular, is the best thing to enhance the spirituality and toughness of magic weapons, and it even has miraculous effects on breaking through certain body refinement bottlenecks; Xuanming True Water is an extremely yin and cold spiritual object with endless wonderful uses."
Such treasures haven't appeared in public auctions for nearly a century. Even if rumors occasionally surface, they've long been snapped up or "hijacked" by those Nascent Soul stage seniors through various means, never reaching the hands of us Golden Core stage cultivators. If Brother Wang urgently needs these two items, I'm afraid... he'll have to have an extraordinary stroke of luck, or pay an unimaginable price, to obtain them from those seniors.”
Luo Ming had already anticipated this, but upon hearing Jin Qing's confirmation, a hint of disappointment still flashed through his mind.
The Chaotic Star Sea has plenty of aquatic monsters, but to find top-tier metal-type materials like Geng Essence, one would probably have to rely on a cultivation holy land like the Great Jin Dynasty.
Or perhaps those transformed demon cultivators in the outer seas might possess them, since the bottom of the deep sea definitely hides many untapped resources.
As for the Xuanming True Water, given its extremely cold nature, it might only be found in the coldest regions of the northernmost part of the Great Jin Dynasty.
"Thank you for informing me, Brother Jin." Luo Ming's expression returned to calm. "It seems that the main purpose of this auction is to broaden my horizons. If there are any suitable magical treasures or secret techniques, I might as well try to acquire them."
"That makes sense," Jin Qing said with a smile. "It's almost time. The auction venue is located in the 'Tianji Hall,' which is directly under the Star Palace. Let's go there now. It's heavily guarded and safe there, so you can rest assured, Brother Wang."
The two finished their spiritual tea, got up and left the teahouse, merging into the noticeably larger and more powerful crowd on the street, heading towards the majestic "Tianji Palace" in the core area of Tianxing City.
The Tianji Palace is situated atop the most central spiritual vein node of Tianxing City. Its magnificent architecture, with high-level formations subtly appearing, exudes a breathtaking and awe-inspiring aura.
At this moment, the area in front of the palace gate was bustling with people, but all of them were people with a calm and restrained aura and a hidden brilliance. The lowest level of them was the Core Formation stage. The Golden Core cultivators, who were rarely seen on ordinary days, seemed somewhat "ordinary" at this moment.
Luo Ming and Jin Qing followed the crowd, had their cultivation levels verified, and paid a considerable amount of spirit stones as a deposit and entrance fee before they were allowed to enter the hall.
Upon entering, the view opened up dramatically. The interior space was far more expansive than it appeared from the outside. The entire auction hall was circular, with a white jade platform at its center, surrounded by several tiers of seats that rose progressively higher. A quick glance revealed that there were already no fewer than two hundred Core Formation cultivators seated there! The air was filled with various auras of varying strengths, and the humming of low conversations blended together to create a unique atmosphere.
What made Luo Ming even more uneasy was that on the second floor, there were some private rooms shrouded in a faint light. Although they were not clearly visible, he could vaguely sense the subtle fluctuations emanating from them that made all the Golden Core cultivators in the room subconsciously hold their breath and concentrate—those were the Nascent Soul old monsters.
"Why are so many Nascent Soul stage seniors here?" Luo Ming asked Jin Qing beside him telepathically. Logically speaking, the items at a Core Formation stage auction should be of a level that wouldn't even catch the eye of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Upon hearing this, Jin Qing revealed a knowing look on his face and explained in a telepathic message, "Brother Wang, you may not know this. Although these large-scale joint auctions separate Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators, the Core Formation level venues occasionally feature items that even Nascent Soul seniors are interested in."
For example, there might be fragments of obscure but ancient secret techniques, rare items with special effects, or highly aged spiritual herbs from certain forbidden lands. Nascent Soul cultivators are naturally welcome to condescend to "treasure hunt" in our arena, but we... have absolutely no chance of entering an exchange or auction specifically set up for Nascent Soul beings.
Luo Ming suddenly understood, nodding to himself; that made sense. But at the same time, a sense of pressure arose. With these old monsters present, if something extraordinary appeared that would also be useful to Nascent Soul cultivators, how could they, as Golden Core cultivators, possibly compete for it? A single glance would probably be enough to silence most of them.