Chapter 186: Preparing for the Auction

In the Virtual Universe, on Lei Ting Island, inside Lu Qingshan's palace.

"The super auction within the Hong Alliance is about to begin; I must prepare well for it!"

Lu Qingshan, staying in the study, thought silently: "Perhaps I will encounter a treasure suitable for me at that auction; if I lack enough money then, it will be troublesome!"

Although he currently controls over two trillion Hunyuan units of wealth, which is already extremely rich among the many King Sealed Realms Immortals.

Yet compared to those King Sealed Realms Immortals who have lived for incomprehensibly long ages and never perished, he is certainly slightly inferior.

It is still that saying: even a King Sealed Realm Immortal engaged in the simplest work, after a sufficiently long time, can accumulate a vast fortune.

And those King Sealed Realms Immortals with backgrounds, such as disciples of Universe Venerables or even Universe Masters, naturally possess wealth that is extremely terrifying.

Although Lu Qingshan currently knows several Universe Dominators, the relationship between them is far inferior to that between master and disciple.

"However, I am also quite lucky!"

Lu Qingshan quickly recalled the Flash Spirit Grass he had prepared earlier for his fifth disciple, Ai Na, which, when used by a Domain Master-level powerhouse who had gained the acceptance of the Lightning Origin Law, had a thirty percent probability of breaking through to become Immortal.

Previously, his fifth disciple Ai Na broke through to become Immortal relying on her own efforts, which saved Lu Qingshan this huge sum of wealth.

Thinking of this, Lu Qingshan quickly set off for the residence of 'Li Huo Wang', also located at the foot of Lei Ting Island; this person is one of the managers of the Acquisition Department of the Virtual Universe Company.

The status of the Acquisition Department of the Virtual Universe Company within the Virtual Universe lineage is not high, not even comparable to the Transport Department, let alone the Intelligence Department, which is filled with powerful beings.

Therefore, the leaders of the Acquisition Department are only three King Sealed Realms Immortals, and Li Huo Wang is one of them.

Although selling the Flash Spirit Grass to the Acquisition Department of the Virtual Universe Company will result in a slightly suppressed price, there is no way around it.

After all, the Flash Spirit Grass Lu Qingshan obtained originally was exchanged for him by Zifeng Zunzhe from the Human Race Treasury, and the Human Race strictly prohibits purchasing treasures within the race at low prices and selling them to alien race powerful beings.

If the treasure was obtained by oneself, selling it at a high price to an alien race is naturally fine.

But if the treasure was purchased within the company or even from the race's treasury, then when one wants to sell it, it must be sold back to the race.

Perhaps Universe Venerables can break this rule, but for a small King Sealed Realm Immortal like Lu Qingshan, it is not possible!

Li Huo Wang's residence is not very far from Lu Qingshan's residence, so Lu Qingshan quickly arrived at the gate of Li Huo Wang's residence.

"Hahaha!"

Just after Lu Qingshan appeared before the gate of Li Huo Wang's residence, a hearty laugh immediately rang out, followed by a middle-aged man wearing a magnificent crimson robe with strange secret patterns on his face quickly coming out to welcome him; this was indeed Li Huo Wang, one of the heads of the Acquisition Department.

Li Huo Wang, walking to the gate of the residence, looked at Lu Qingshan and warmly greeted him soon: "Ten Thousand Worlds King, you rarely come to my place!"

"Li Huo Wang!"

Lu Qingshan similarly smiled and greeted him, then continued speaking: "I came to find you this time mainly because I have something to ask for your help!"

"Things can be discussed slowly!"

Li Huo Wang immediately extended his hand to invite: "I just exchanged a bottle of good wine today; Ten Thousand Worlds King, you are in for a treat today!"

Although Li Huo Wang did not know what was special about Lu Qingshan, he knew that Lu Qingshan had certain relationships with several Universe Dominators in the Human Race, so his attitude naturally appeared very enthusiastic.

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan also quickly followed Li Huo Wang into the residence; afterwards, Li Huo Wang quickly picked up a wine bottle from the side and poured a cup of fruit wine for Lu Qingshan.

"Not Immortal Spring?"

Lu Qingshan looked at the fine wine in his hand, feeling slightly surprised in his heart.

To know, even within the Virtual Universe, this Immortal Spring is quite expensive; although it means nothing to King Sealed Realms Immortals, it cannot withstand the accumulated consumption of wine lovers over time.

Therefore, for most Immortal Gods, generally only when encountering something worth celebrating would they drink such fine wine.

Thinking of this, Lu Qingshan quickly asked with a smile: "Li Huo Wang, have you encountered some good news?"

"Indeed!"

Li Huo Wang nodded slightly and said: "A talented genius recently emerged from my family's descendants, even breaking into the top ten in the entire universe in the previous Peak Genius Battle, and finally joined the Tai Chu Secret Realm within the core layer of our Virtual Universe Company lineage!"

"Just a short while ago, my family's descendant went to the Xueluo Continent for training, and on the return journey, unexpectedly received the favor of the Tian Shi Palace Master, who took him in as a nominal disciple!"

"Tian Shi Palace Master?"

After hearing Li Huo Wang's words, Lu Qingshan was also slightly startled in his heart.

When Tian Shi Wang first broke through to the Venerable Realm, his title was only Tian Shi Zunzhe; it was not until several million years ago that he changed his name to Tian Shi Palace Master.

At the same time, the Youhou Holy Temple, which had been guarding outside the Xueluo Continent, also became the Tian Shi Palace!

"This is truly a matter worth celebrating!"

A thought flashed through Lu Qingshan's mind, and he quickly raised his cup to invite: "Then I will congratulate Li Huo Wang in advance on your family producing a new King Sealed Realm Immortal!"

"Hahaha!"

Li Huo Wang immediately said with a smile: "To become a King Sealed Realm Immortal, that little fellow still has a very long road to walk!"

"By the way, Ten Thousand Worlds King, what is the matter you came to find me for?"

"It is like this!"

Lu Qingshan immediately said with a smile: "I have a treasure on my person that I wish to sell to your Acquisition Department; that is why I came to find you, Li Huo Wang!"

"So it is this matter!"

Li Huo Wang immediately said with a smile: "Ten Thousand Worlds King, rest assured; shortly I will send someone under my command to your place, and I will definitely give you a suitable acquisition price!"

As one of the heads of the Acquisition Department, Li Huo Wang usually no longer handles specific acquisition work, unless encountering extremely precious treasures.

And in his eyes, Lu Qingshan has only just broken through to the King Sealed Realm not long ago; how precious a treasure could he possibly have in hand?

"That should not be the case!"

Lu Qingshan said with a smile: "Li Huo Wang, what I want to sell this time is a quite precious Flash Spirit Grass!"

"Flash Spirit Grass?"

After hearing Lu Qingshan's words, Li Huo Wang was slightly stunned, then immediately stood up and said: "Is it the Flash Spirit Grass that can help a Domain Master break through to the Immortal Realm?"

As one of the heads of the Acquisition Department, Li Huo Wang naturally has very high permissions within the Virtual Universe, so of course he knows what the Flash Spirit Grass is!

But the more so, the more startled he became in his heart!

"Indeed!"

Lu Qingshan nodded slightly, then waved his hand, and immediately a virtual image of a Flash Spirit Grass appeared in the void before the two of them.

"This... you..."

Upon seeing this illusory Flash Spirit Grass, Fire King Li Huo Wang was involuntarily startled.

For just one stalk of Flash Spirit Grass was already worth more than the wealth he had accumulated over his long years!

He wanted to inquire about the origin of this Flash Spirit Grass, wanted to ask how Lu Qingshan had obtained it, but in the end he held back, after all, such matters were very likely to cause the other party's displeasure.

Fire King Li Huo Wang had already been very enthusiastic towards Lu Qingshan before; now that he knew Lu Qingshan possessed a stalk of Flash Spirit Grass, he was even more so, and naturally would not act so foolishly.

"Fire King Li Huo Wang!"

Lu Qingshan smiled and said, "Look, how much do you think this stalk of Flash Spirit Grass can sell for?"

"This..."

Fire King Li Huo Wang hesitated slightly, then spoke softly, "Ten Thousand Worlds King, this Flash Spirit Grass is extremely precious; once sold, it will be difficult to purchase again! In my opinion, if you are not in a hurry to sell, you might as well wait a bit longer..."

Having said this, Fire King Li Huo Wang winked at Lu Qingshan, then continued, "For treasures like Flash Spirit Grass, there is actually an opportunity to participate in the Super Auction within the Hong Alliance City! By the way, I recall the Super Auction is about to convene; Ten Thousand Worlds King, do you wish to join the festivities then?"

Hearing these words, Lu Qingshan immediately laughed.

Fire King Li Huo Wang was obviously hinting that he should send the Flash Spirit Grass to the Super Auction for consignment, but because they were in the Virtual Universe, he could not say it outright.

Yet this kind of hint was practically the same as saying it directly; the Virtual Universe Company generally turned a blind eye to such matters, as long as there was no open violation, nothing major would happen.

Lu Qingshan naturally knew this matter as well; however, his Flash Spirit Grass had been exchanged from the Human Race, and thus could not be sent to the auction for consignment.

Thinking of this, Lu Qingshan quickly said, "Fire King Li Huo Wang, I understand your meaning, but regarding this Flash Spirit Grass, I still wish to sell it directly to the Company's Acquisition Department!"

Seeing that Lu Qingshan understood his meaning yet insisted on this course, Fire King Li Huo Wang naturally would not continue to persuade him further.

After all, his previous actions had, to some extent, already damaged the interests of the Company and the Department.

"Very well then!"

Fire King Li Huo Wang nodded slightly, then continued, "For treasures like Flash Spirit Grass, there is a clear acquisition price within our Acquisition Department; the acquisition price for one stalk of Flash Spirit Grass is ninety trillion Hunyuan Units. I wonder if Ten Thousand Worlds King agrees?"

Hearing these words, Lu Qingshan also nodded inwardly.

The information he had learned from his Grandmaster Venerable Yao Guang was that one Heavy Treasure Point was equivalent to one hundred trillion Hunyuan Units.

Of course, within the Human Race, converting Heavy Treasure Points into credits and Hunyuan Units was simple, but converting Hunyuan Units and credits back into Heavy Treasure Points was extremely difficult.

After all, for Universe Venerables, most treasures purchasable with credits and Hunyuan Units were already of no use to themselves, so when trading among them, they mostly used the Race's Heavy Treasure Points, Ordinary Ordinary Zhibao Points, or engaged in barter.

However, Lu Qingshan did not yet possess such strength; the acquisition price given by the Race was slightly lower than the selling price, and ninety percent was not considered a loss for him.

After all, in the original work, when Luo Feng contributed the Heavy Treasures and Supreme Treasures in his possession to the Race, the Contribution Points he received were only ninety percent of the treasure's exchange price.

Thinking of this, Lu Qingshan immediately nodded and said, "No problem!"

"Very good!"

Fire King Li Huo Wang nodded slightly, then continued asking, "Ten Thousand Worlds King, I wonder where you plan to hand over the Flash Spirit Grass? I will arrange for a specialist to go and complete the handover!"

"Right here, in my residence within Chaos City!" Lu Qingshan said again.

"That is naturally the best!"

Fire King Li Huo Wang nodded slightly, then continued smiling, "I will arrange for a specialist to go over immediately!"

Handing over within Chaos City naturally meant no accidents could occur; for him, this was also relatively trouble-free.

After discussing these official matters, Lu Qingshan then chatted idly with Fire King Li Huo Wang.

And during the two's idle chat, people from the Acquisition Department quickly arrived at Lu Qingshan's residence within Chaos City; after handing over the Flash Spirit Grass to the other party, a huge sum of ninety trillion Hunyuan Units quickly appeared in Lu Qingshan's account.

Just like this, time continued to pass.

More than ten years later, the new session of the Hong Alliance Super Auction also began.

Virtual Universe, within Hong Alliance City.

Lu Qingshan and Hearing Qingping Wang from the Virtual Universe Company's Intelligence Department gathered together, then quickly took out the invitation letters in their hands.

As soon as the invitation letters were taken out, they quickly radiated dazzling light; subsequently, Lu Qingshan and Hearing Qingping Wang were teleported to a vast continent floating amidst clouds and mist.

The scenery on this continent was extremely exquisite; various rare flowers and strange herbs could be seen everywhere.

And at the central position of this continent stood an incomparably dazzling massive building, which was the Auction Hall.

The Super Auction, held only once every ten thousand epochs, was held here each time.

And the strong ones participating in the Super Auction must possess wealth of at least one hundred billion Hunyuan Units.

And at the entrance of the Auction Hall at this moment, countless Immortal Gods from myriad races within the Hong Alliance had already gathered; each of them was either wearing splendid robes or donning ancient-style battle armor...

Among these powerful figures, most were alien strong ones with bizarre physiques, clearly very different from the Human Race strong ones.

However, upon seeing the Human Race strong ones, most of these alien strong ones were very enthusiastic, after all, the entire Hong Alliance took the Human Race as its core.

Around this massive Auction Hall, there were a total of exactly 108 entrances; just at the entrance where Lu Qingshan and Hearing Qingping Wang stood, there were fully thousands of figures slowly advancing.

Adding up all the strong ones at every entrance, the number absolutely reached several hundred thousand!

"Hearing Qingping Wang!"

"Hearing Qingping Wang!"

"Ten Thousand Worlds King!"

The many alien strong ones around who saw Lu Qingshan and Hearing Qingping Wang appear enthusiastically greeted them.

However, most of these greetings were directed at Hearing Qingping Wang; the strong ones familiar with Lu Qingshan were relatively few.

After all, since Lu Qingshan arrived in Hong Alliance City, he had been quite low-key, usually only active in a few districts around his residence; naturally, the strong ones familiar with him would not be too many.

But Hearing Qingping Wang was different!

As one of the most capable assistants under Yin Ying Junzhu, Hearing Qingping Wang had not infrequently dealt with alien strong ones in her daily life; moreover, combined with her own terrifying strength, she naturally attracted the gaze of countless strong ones around.

"Hearing Qingping Wang rarely comes to Hong Alliance City recently; who is that Hei Fengwang Immortal God beside her?"

"It should be Ten Thousand Worlds King, who just broke through not long ago in the Human Race; I have seen his records before!"

"Being able to act together with a powerful figure like Hearing Qingping Wang right after breaking through, could he be an unparalleled genius within the Human Race? But how come I have never heard of him?"

"Not at all! It's said that when the Ten Thousand Worlds King first broke through, he was merely an ordinary Military Lord Immortal, and only later gradually cultivated to the Hei Fengwang level!"

"Then why is the Hearing Qingping Wang traveling with him?"

"I don't know—perhaps the Ten Thousand Worlds King has tremendous backing!"

"The Ten Thousand Worlds King only just broke through, yet he's already attending this Super Auction—definitely has deep connections. I should reach out to my human clan friends to learn more, so I don't accidentally offend him later!"

Many of the strong ones in the group had come in pairs or small groups, and numerous Hei Fengwang Immortals knew each other, so they quickly gathered together and began chatting.

Lu Qingshan heard these powerful ones discussing him and Zunzhe Qingping, and his sense of the human clan's dominance grew even stronger.

The auction hall had many entrances, and since even those waiting in line were at least Hei Fengwang Immortals, it wasn't long before Lu Qingshan and Zunzhe Qingping were called.

"My lord, the Ten Thousand Worlds King, welcome to this year's Super Auction. Here is your seat number."

Lu Qingshan smiled as he took the black token offered by the attendant; it bore a small translucent screen displaying his assigned seat number—ZCN76488.

Since Zunzhe Qingping was with him and a fellow clan strong one, he was naturally assigned an adjacent seat.

Thus, Lu Qingshan and Zunzhe Qingping entered the auction hall holding their tokens, and soon saw a vast plaza.

Around the plaza were rows upon rows of seats, while in the center stood an auction podium crafted from black rock.

"ZCN76488."

Lu Qingshan and Zunzhe Qingping, holding their seat tokens, quickly found their respective seats.

Each seat in the auction hall was six meters wide and ten meters tall.

The entire auction hall contained nearly a million towering seats, already half-filled, arranged in concentric circles stretching endlessly.

The murmurs of countless powerful beings rose and fell throughout the hall, echoing like countless celestial deities conversing.

Super-strong beings rarely seen on the Outer Battlefield were everywhere here, as countless as fish crossing a river.

After all, every strong one attending this Super Auction had a fortune exceeding a hundred billion Hunyuan units—accumulating such staggering wealth proved their background and power!

Half a day later!

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

A gentle voice echoed through the auction hall, instantly silencing all the chatting strong ones.

Lu Qingshan looked toward the black rock podium at the center of the hall.

There appeared a female alien strong one with purple hair and a graceful figure.

Behind her loomed a virtual projection stretching several kilometers high.

"Welcome all to this year's Super Auction!"

"First, thank the human clan for providing this platform, and let us jointly wish for the Hong Alliance to grow ever stronger under the leadership of the human clan!"

The alien strong one smiled: "This year's Super Auction has attracted a staggering 306,041 participants—three thousand more than last year—demonstrating that the Hong Alliance is thriving under the human clan's leadership!"

"I believe most of you here are already familiar with me—I am 'Princess Zichen,' and this is my tenth time hosting such a grand event. I hope you will continue to support me!"

(End of Chapter)