Chapter 104: Qing Shuang

Ascend the rotating golden staircase.

Faint light spreads, coalescing into a formation barrier.

“To protect guest privacy, Jiangcheng Auction House has no grand hall.”

The golden staircase rises; the attendant smiles, “Your private suite is number 3352.”

A few seconds later.

The formation dissipates; the staircase door opens.

“Proceed three intersections, turn left, then right—suite 3352 is there.”

The attendant extends a hand in a gesture of invitation.

“Thank you.”

Jiang Jian thanked him, stepped out of the golden staircase, and walked toward the suite.

Beneath his feet stretched a corridor hundreds of meters high.

The surrounding rooms all floated in midair.

Beneath each room, formation lights flickered.

They consumed vast amounts of energy every second.

“Here, they don’t even check identity devices.”

Jiang Jian’s gaze shifted slightly, recalling the scenes he’d seen along the way.

Many wore hooded cloaks, concealing themselves.

Yet at the city gate, the auction house attendants never verified identities.

Instead, they bowed respectfully, guiding every guest up the golden staircase.

“Here, non-citizens can also participate in auctions.”

In an instant, Jiang Jian made an accurate judgment from this information.

“At the auction house,”

“Alliance currency is everything.”

“Some things, by normal standards, might be impossible to buy with Alliance currency.”

“But if you have enough Alliance currency,”

“Even things you couldn’t buy before become purchasable.”

As he pondered,

Jiang Jian found suite 3352 and pushed the door open.

The suite’s furnishings were extremely simple.

A luxury sofa, a massive holographic screen.

On the sofa sat a dedicated auction device.

Aside from these,

The room was spotless, nothing else.

“Please select an auction section.”

Jiang Jian picked up the auction device, tapped the screen, and immediately heard a prompt.

The device displayed dozens of auction sections.

They included many types of auction items, allowing guests to switch freely.

“With money, cultivation is indeed much simpler.”

Jiang Jian browsed popular auction items, his thoughts churning.

Of countless auction items, only half related to cultivation.

The other half were mostly cutting-edge tech, top-tier luxuries, and high-end daily indulgences.

Even so,

Among these cultivation-related auction items,

Many were unavailable on the Linjiang network platform.

“Exclusive cultivation elixir, starting bid: 300,000 Alliance currency.”

“Drink one bottle daily; chance to rapidly increase spiritual essence.”

Jiang Jian casually opened an auction item and viewed its holographic image.

A pitch-black bottle appeared.

The mouth was open, emitting black smoke.

“What the hell is this?”

Jiang Jian frowned slightly and swiped away the information.

He had no intention of trying these strange oddities.

Traditional cultivation resources, though slower,

Were solid and reliable—spiritual essence accumulated steadily, with no side effects.

He continued browsing auction items.

Jiang Jian realized:

The auction house differed sharply from the network platform.

Items sold on the network platform

Were standardized, mass-produced, and highly homogenized.

But Jiangcheng Auction House,

Most auction items were personally submitted—non-standardized goods.

“Auction section selection complete.”

“Time until auction begins: 30 minutes remaining.”

As Jiang Jian selected the “Weapons” auction section,

The auction device glowed faintly.

“Please anonymously transfer auction funds.”

“Bid amount must not exceed transferred funds.”

A virtual payment panel appeared.

Clearly, Jiangcheng Auction House used anonymous payment.

Jiang Jian’s gaze flickered; he took out his gold card and swiped it.

Instantly,

Gold light flowed across the auction device.

“My friend, I hope you’re enjoying yourself at my home.”

A pre-recorded voice from Young Master Zhang echoed out.

The gold light faded.

The auction device displayed a balance of over 10,000,000.

Hearing the voice, Jiang Jian’s expression turned odd.

This gold card,

Was the one Young Master Zhang used for gifting.

Anyone bringing this card to the auction house would hear the recording.

At the same time, the auction device’s prompt sounded again.

“You have successfully transferred auction funds: 10 million Alliance currency.”

“Source of funds detected as special—funds non-refundable after auction concludes.”

Jiang Jian set down the auction device.

Sat on the sofa, quietly cultivating.

Thirty minutes passed quickly.

The auction device chimed.

“Weapons auction section—auction about to begin!”

“Special notice: All auction items at this house have undergone the Divine Prayer Hall’s Purification Ritual and fully comply with Alliance regulations.”

“Weapons” encompassed many types:

Techniques for wielding weapons,

Methods of forging weapons,

Secrets of consecrating weapons,

And divine-bestowed weapons.

All these fell under “Weapons.”

“Lot 1.”

“Divine-bestowed weapon: Horse-Splitting Saber.”

“Rank: Level 2.”

“Trait: Sharpness, Armor-Piercing.”

“Starting bid: 300,000 Alliance currency.”

Jiang Jian sat on the sofa and looked up.

A massive holographic screen displayed a long knife gleaming with icy light.

Below the knife’s image, auction messages rolled continuously and rapidly.

“310,000 Alliance Coins.”

“330,000 Alliance Coins.”

“390,000 Alliance Coins.”

……

Just a few minutes passed.

The chopping knife sold for 790,000 Alliance Coins, with no further bids.

Many divine-awarded weapons had no special traits.

The chopping knife, though possessing a trait,

was only Level 2.

At 790,000 Alliance Coins, the price had nearly saturated.

After the waiting period,

the chopping knife was won by a bidder.

“Lot 2.”

“Talent Orb: Swordsman.”

“Level: 2.”

“Trait: Suitable for sword users, enhances sword technique damage.”

“Starting bid: 900,000 Alliance Coins.”

……

“Lot 3.”

“Talent Orb: Halberd.”

“Level: 2.”

“Trait: Suitable for halberd users, grants halberd blade aura.”

“Starting bid: 630,000 Alliance Coins.”

……

These lots were sold one by one.

Jiang Jian did not rush to bid; instead, he cultivated quietly while waiting.

Soon,

gold light appeared on the auction device.

This was a pre-marked lot, signaling imminent auction.

“Lot 12.”

“Divine-awarded Weapon: Huanling Robe.”

“Level: 3.”

“Trait: Enhances Qi circulation, significantly boosts Qi recovery.”

“Starting bid: 2,700,000 Alliance Coins.”

On the holographic display, a plain, unadorned robe appeared.

Jiang Jian’s expression remained calm as he pressed the auction device.

The large screen instantly showed new rolling messages.

“2,900,000 Alliance Coins.”

“3,100,000 Alliance Coins.”

“3,200,000 Alliance Coins.”

……

Seeing the price surge,

Jiang Jian paused, then removed the “Huanling Robe” from his bid and withdrew.

Divine-awarded weapons that aid cultivation were bluntly effective and highly sought after.

In the end,

the Huanling Robe sold for 4,300,000 Alliance Coins.

More than ten minutes later,

“Lot 20.”

“Divine-awarded Weapon: Qingshuang Sword Array.”

“Level: 3.”

“Special Note: Rare Divine Item — Weapon Dao Sword Array.”

“Trait: Sword light responds to will, sword aura forms an array, greatly enhancing sword technique lethality.”

“Starting bid: 3,000,000 Alliance Coins.”

A notification tone sounded.

Jiang Jian opened his eyes, picked up the auction device, and entered his bid directly.

“5,000,000 Alliance Coins.”

As soon as the bid appeared,

the rolling bar on the holographic screen froze.

A 2,000,000 Alliance Coin jump instantly deterred many eager bidders.

After several seconds,

new messages appeared.

“5,100,000 Alliance Coins.”

Jiang Jian did not hesitate; he tapped the auction device and raised his bid again.

“5,200,000 Alliance Coins.”

Generally,

Level 3 divine-awarded weapons ranged from 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 Alliance Coins.

Except for rare forging-type “weapons,” prices rarely exceeded 6,000,000.

“5,250,000 Alliance Coins.”

“5,400,000 Alliance Coins.”

Jiang Jian frowned slightly and tapped the auction device for his final bid.

“5,500,000 Alliance Coins.”

The Qingshuang Sword Array could be paired with Hanguang, greatly enhancing its effect.

But its true value lay around 5,000,000 Alliance Coins.

5,500,000 Alliance Coins was Jiang Jian’s upper limit.

The waiting period ended.

No one bid higher.

On the auction device screen, his balance of 10,000,000 Alliance Coins plummeted rapidly!

The numbers scrolled swiftly downward.

In moments, it dropped to 4,500,000 Alliance Coins!

“Congratulations! You have won the bid!”

“Level 3 Divine-awarded Weapon: Qingshuang Sword Array!”

A few minutes later,

a knock came at the door.

Jiang Jian pressed the auction device; the door opened.

A servant, carrying a heavy golden wooden box, placed it respectfully before Jiang Jian.

“Esteemed guest, would you like to perform the binding ritual now?”

“If so, I will summon staff from the Prayer Hall immediately.”

Jiang Jian shook his head: “Not yet.”

The servant bowed and withdrew: “I am at your service at any time.”

The door closed.

The golden wooden box was large, nearly half the size of a suitcase.

Jiang Jian did not open it immediately.

Instead, he tapped the auction device and switched to the “Tech Equipment” section.

After his earlier cultivation,

Jiang Jian realized:

he had reversed the order.

Divine-awarded weapons are typically valued most for their lethality.

Used to assist cultivation, the effect is minimal.

Technological equipment, requiring no binding ritual, is an excellent aid for cultivation.

The Feishuang Bracelet works very well.

But it’s not enough.

After all.

Technological equipment occupies no acupoints and does not cause Qi contamination.

The only drawback is its high price.

The Qingshuang Sword Array belongs to the Divine Gift of the Martial Path and is a relatively rare type of array.

Even at the Yongquan Realm, it remains competitive.

“Wish Jade, unbind.”

“Switch to the Qingshuang Sword Array.”

“My offensive capabilities will increase by at least fifty percent!”

As he pondered.

Jiang Jian looked at the auction device, where the technological equipment section’s items were displayed.

“Lot 29.”

“Technological item: Liuguang Jade.”

“Divine technological level: Fu Realm.”

“Array engraving: 19 micro-arrays.”

“Effect: Increases conversion rate of stellar light, greatly boosting daily cultivation speed.”

“Starting bid: 1.9 million Alliance Coins.”

(End of chapter)