txolops Chapter 16 is filled with danger! A thief blocks the road!
Chapter 16 is filled with danger! A thief blocks the road!
Chapter 16 is filled with danger! A thief blocks the road!
The Wanbaolou auction house is located on the second floor, in a circular layout. In the center is a high platform, surrounded by dozens of private rooms of varying sizes, as well as scattered seats downstairs.
Lin Chuan entered the seventeenth private room of the Bing character. The room was not large, but it was elegantly decorated and equipped with simple soundproofing and divine sense detection barriers.
Through the crystal curtain wall in front, the auction platform can be clearly seen, but it is difficult for outsiders to see into the private rooms.
At this time, about 70-80% of the cultivators were already seated in the room, and voices could be heard faintly.
Lin Chuan sat down quietly and closed his eyes to rest.
About half an incense stick later, an elderly man dressed in a brocade robe and with a ruddy complexion slowly walked up to the high platform.
He cupped his hands in greeting to those around him, his voice booming, "Welcome, fellow Daoists, to the Wanbaolou Auction! As usual, the highest bidder wins, payment in spirit stones, cash on delivery. Without further ado, let the auction begin!"
"First item up for auction: a Level 1 High-Rank Spirit Beast cub, the 'Wind Shadow Leopard'! This beast is extremely fast when it matures, and excels at stealth and tracking, making it an excellent spirit pet for guarding the home and assisting in combat! Starting price: 200 spirit stones; each bid must be at least 10 spirit stones higher!"
A fluffy, bright-eyed leopard cub was carried onto a high platform by a maid, immediately causing a commotion.
"Two hundred and ten!"
"Two hundred and thirty!"
"Two hundred and fifty!"
Bidding was in full swing, and finally it was won by a middle-aged man who looked like a rogue cultivator for four hundred spirit stones.
Lin Chuan shook his head inwardly. Raising spirit beasts consumes a huge amount of resources and has a long growth cycle, which is not worthwhile for him at present.
The next few items were mostly high-quality magical artifacts, elixirs, and talismans. Although each had its own unique features, they did not arouse Lin Chuan's interest.
Until the sixth item was carried onto the platform by a maid—
It was an old-fashioned wooden box, about a foot square, dark brown in color, with intricate cloud patterns carved on its surface. A yellowed talisman was pasted on the opening of the box, faintly glowing with spiritual light.
"Fellow Daoists, please look at this!" The shopkeeper pointed to the wooden box, his voice carrying a hint of mystery. "This box was obtained by a guest of my Wanbaolou from a ruin. The restrictions on it are quite profound. We tried several times but failed to open it! However, with our divine sense, we can feel the fluctuations of spiritual energy inside the box, which must contain treasures! Forcing it open might damage the treasures inside, so we had no choice but to put it up for auction."
He paused, then announced loudly, "This mysterious wooden box has a starting price of two hundred spirit stones! Each bid must increase by at least twenty spirit stones! Fellow Daoists, your opportunity may lie within!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a murmur arose from the audience.
"An unopenable box? Who knows what's inside?"
"If even Wanbaolou can't be opened, wouldn't buying it be like buying a decoration?"
"But if it truly was left behind by an ancient cultivator, the treasures within might be extraordinary..."
For a moment, no one made a bid.
The shopkeeper's smile remained unchanged, as if he had expected this.
Lin Chuan's gaze fell on the wooden box, and he thought to himself, "This is what the divination indicates."
He was in no hurry to make a bid and waited patiently.
Sure enough, a moment later, a hoarse voice came from one of the private rooms: "Two hundred and twenty spirit stones."
With one person taking the lead, several others followed suit and placed their bids.
"Two hundred and forty!"
"Two hundred and sixty!"
"three hundred!"
Prices rose slowly, but the increases were small, indicating that people had limited interest in the box.
When the price rose to four hundred spirit stones, the bidding became less frequent.
"Four hundred and twenty spirit stones." Lin Chuan finally spoke, his voice coming through the barrier of the private room, sounding slightly low.
"Four hundred and forty!" Another private room immediately followed suit with a price increase.
"Four hundred and sixty," Lin Chuan said calmly.
"Four hundred and eighty!"
"five hundred."
The other party remained silent for a moment, seemingly hesitant.
The innkeeper called out at the opportune moment, "Five hundred spirit stones! Box number seventeen (Category C) has bid five hundred spirit stones! Any fellow cultivators willing to raise the price?"
No one responded.
"Five hundred spirit stones once! Five hundred spirit stones twice! Five hundred spirit stones three times—sold!"
The mallet fell, and the wooden box became Lin Chuan's property.
Soon, the maid brought the wooden box into the private room.
Lin Chuan handed over five hundred spirit stones and held the wooden box in his hand, examining it carefully.
It felt heavy in my hand, the wood was as hard as iron, the surface had ancient cloud patterns, and the runes on the yellowed talisman were quite mysterious, with a faint power of sealing flowing through it.
He tried to probe with his divine sense, but was blocked by the power of the talisman and could not penetrate it.
"As expected, there is a restriction... But since it is what the divination indicates, it is not too late to study it slowly when we get back." Lin Chuan put the wooden box into his storage bag.
The auction continued, and several more top-tier magical artifacts and rare materials appeared, including a bottle of "Exploding Yuan Pill" that could temporarily boost cultivation, leading to fierce competition.
Lin Chuan did not make another move, but simply watched quietly.
An hour later, the auction came to a successful conclusion.
Lin Chuan followed the crowd out of Wanbaolou. Just as he turned the corner, a middle-aged cultivator in a gray robe with an ordinary face suddenly blocked his way.
"Fellow Daoist, please wait!"
The middle-aged man smiled broadly and pulled a yellowed leather scroll from his robes. "I have a map of an ancient ruin, said to be the location of the cave where a Golden Core cultivator passed away! I'll sell it to you for just two hundred spirit stones, fellow Daoist. What do you say?"
Lin Chuan glanced at the scroll; the paper was rough and the ink was still fresh. It didn't look like an antique at all.
"No need," Lin Chuan said coldly, walking around the other person to leave.
A sinister glint flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes, but he remained persistent, catching up and whispering, "Fellow Daoist, don't be impatient, the price is negotiable! One hundred and fifty spirit stones! Such an opportunity is rare and precious!"
Lin Chuan kept walking, ignoring everyone, and quickly merged into the crowd.
The middle-aged man stood still, watching Lin Chuan's departing figure. A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth. He gently rubbed his right hand in his sleeve, and a tiny, almost invisible speck of dust floated into the air.
"Hmph, you're quite vigilant... But now that you've been marked by 'Thousand Mile Fragrance,' let's see where you run."
He turned and disappeared into the depths of the alley.
---
Lin Chuan did not leave the market immediately.
The appearance of that middle-aged man had made him wary.
What made him even more uneasy was that ever since he left Wanbaolou, he had a faint sense of a divine consciousness that seemed to be constantly locking onto him.
"Was it that middle-aged man? Or did he flaunt his wealth at the auction and attract the attention of others?" Lin Chuan frowned slightly.
After cultivating the "Awakening of Insects Divine Sword," his divine sense was much sharper than that of other cultivators of the same level, and this feeling of being spied on was definitely not an illusion.
After a moment's thought, Lin Chuan changed his plans.
Instead of heading towards the market exit, he turned back and found a relatively secluded inn on the edge of the market. He rented a temporary cave dwelling with simple defensive barriers for one day.
"Since someone is watching us, leaving rashly is risky. I might as well stay here for the night and see how things go," Lin Chuan thought to himself.
Upon entering the cave, activate the protective barrier.
He didn't rush to study the mysterious wooden box, but instead sat cross-legged and fully expanded his spiritual sense to carefully perceive his surroundings.
The feeling of being watched seemed to lessen considerably after entering the cave, but it didn't completely disappear.
"As expected, they're still watching..." Lin Chuan's eyes turned slightly cold.
He ignored it, swallowed a Qi Condensation Pill, and began cultivating.
The next morning, Lin Chuan finished his daily energy circulation, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
He looked at the divination chart updated today—
Today's divination: Moderately inauspicious.
[The divination reads: You returned to Yellow Maple Valley, but were ambushed by bandits on the way. You escaped severely injured.]
"A terrible omen!"
Lin Chuan felt a chill run down his spine.
Sure enough, my feeling yesterday was right; we really were being watched!
"The ambush was carried out by the cultivators...they escaped severely wounded..."
He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and quickly analyzed the situation.
The divination indicates "escaping with serious injuries" rather than "falling," suggesting that although there is danger, it is not a hopeless situation.
The key lies in the "ambush"—the other side was clearly prepared and had chosen a location to strike.
"If I return to Yellow Maple Valley as originally planned today, I will surely fall into their ambush."
Lin Chuan's eyes flickered: "But what if I don't leave?"