A deep, reverberating gong echoed through the Grand Supreme Amphitheater, signaling the official start of the decennial auction.
On the central crystal platform, the Grand Auctioneer—an elderly cultivator wearing embroidered golden silk robes—bowed toward the ten thousand spectators.
“Welcome, exalted patriarchs, sect masters, and esteemed merchants from across the Nine Prefectures!” the Grand Auctioneer boomed, his voice amplified by enchanted bronze arrays. “Today, three hundred celestial treasures unearthed from ancient battlefields, secret realms, and sunken continents will find their rightful owners!”
The first four lots moved quickly.
A chest of thousand-year dragon-blood coral sold for six hundred million Supreme Spirit Stones. A flying shuttle forged from star-iron fetched eight hundred million. Ancient jade scrolls containing forgotten alchemy recipes sold for over a billion.
Sitting in the shadowy rear corner behind the eight-foot granite pillar, Lin Mo did not even glance at the stage.
He was leaning back on his wooden bench, comfortably sipping a warm cup of brown-sugar milk-tea that Little Guo’er had brewed from fresh goat milk and roasted tea leaves.
Beside him, Chu Lingxiao and Mu Qing were also sipping their milk-tea in relaxed silence.
