Chapter 299

Inside the hall, every seat was taken.

Time quickly arrived at the start of the auction.

Only seeing on the round platform ahead appeared a black-robed old man who looked very refined, his expression kind, the corners of his mouth bearing a faint smile, as he spoke: "Welcome, fellow cultivators, to our Xue Nu Chang. I am the auctioneer of Xue Nu Chang, Fang Zhiming; you may call me Fang Lao. I hope the upcoming auction items will catch your eye."

"No more talk, let's directly present tonight's first auction item."

Saying this, Fang Lao raised both hands and clapped slowly.

Clap clap!

Immediately, two servants brought up the auction item.

Everyone looked closely and immediately knew what it was.

Fang Lao introduced: "This is the beast core of a third‑grade Fierce Tiger, which can aid cultivators in their training."

A third‑grade spirit beast corresponds to the Golden Core Realm of human cultivators.

This third‑grade beast core is already considered an extraordinary item.

Most cultivators in the hall were only at the Foundation Establishment Realm; if they could obtain this third‑grade beast core, they would surely be able to enhance their cultivation strength.

Fang Lao smiled and said: "The starting bid is one thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

In an instant, the cultivators below all raised their hands to bid.

Meanwhile, Yuan Yao and her companions naturally had no interest in this auction item; they were waiting, waiting for news from Xiao Lingwei and the others.

Soon, this third‑grade beast core was bought by a demonic cultivator in the hall for two thousand three hundred fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Immediately afterward, Fang Lao continued to introduce the next auction item.

The auction atmosphere was also quite lively.

And Yuan Yao's group remained still, which also drew the attention of many.

Many people speculated that the four of them had come for the Treasure Map.

After an hour, the auction progressed to its latter half.

And the auction items gradually became things like forbidden technique fragments, forbidden objects, living beast blood, and so on.

Such auction items caused the evil cultivators and demonic cultivators below to flock to them, and they shouted bids fiercely.

Fang Lao on the stage revealed a mysterious smile and said: "The upcoming auction items, I believe you will surely like them."

Soon, more than a dozen guards carried up one huge cylinder‑like object after another, their surfaces covered with red cloth.

From afar a bloody smell wafted over, causing the evil cultivators and demonic cultivators present to widen their eyes, their eyes flashing with greedy, fervent light.

Fang Lao turned back, gesturing for the guards to lift the cover.

At the moment the guards lifted the cover, eight cages appeared on the round platform, each containing cultivators with terrified faces, their mouths stuffed with cloth, their hands bound behind their backs, their feet tightly wound with ropes, leaving them unable to break free of their Bind.

Pair after pair of eyes filled with despair stared straight down at the crowd below, as if hoping to find a glimmer of hope for life there.

But the opposite happened: the more they appeared pitiable and helpless, the more the evil cultivators and demonic cultivators below became excited and eager to try.

Yuan Yao and her companions all furrowed their brows in unison.

Seeing this, Yuan Yao couldn't help recalling the scene she had witnessed in the Liuguang Secret Realm, where the yao and mo races treated human captives; a sense of discomfort and doubt rose in her heart.

Why, though they are of the same human race, must they treat each other as vessels for cultivation?

How is this different from what the demon and yao races do?

She turned her head, scanning the evil cultivators and demonic cultivators behind her; they were now in a state of extreme excitement, with only a small portion of them able to remain calm.

The hall was noisy and clamorous.

"Are you feeling uneasy?" Song Yan asked softly.

Yuan Yao nodded.

Song Yan pursed his lips; he did not know how to speak to explain the existence of these evil and demonic cultivators, so he transmitted his voice: "Among humans, too, there are good and bad, right and wrong. Sometimes good people are not absolutely good, and bad people are not utterly bad, so we must follow our hearts in our actions. Yao Yao, since we have cultivated the righteous path since childhood, we must act righteously, defending justice and all living beings."

"Evil and demonic cultivators cannot be slaughtered to extinction; if we encounter injustice on the road, we must act within our capacity to help. However, before acting we must also consider the consequences, lest we bring disaster upon ourselves, and we must not bring disaster upon our sect and others."

He spoke these words with deep sincerity.

Yuan Yao could understand her Eldest Senior Brother's attitude and meaning.

Yuan Yao lifted her gaze to Song Yan and nodded seriously.

"There is no Senior Brother Ao here…" At this moment, Lin Xuechen lowered his voice and said: "Senior Brother Song, have Senior Sister Xiao and the others been in contact with you?"

Song Yan, upon hearing this, shook his head.

"No news."

Hearing this, the hearts of Lin Xuechen and Zong Yu'er both sank a little.

Could it be that Senior Sister Xiao and the others have met with misfortune?

Just as they were worried, Fang Lao on the stage continued to preside over the auction's progress, pointing at the 'blood slaves' trapped inside the cages and saying: "You should also know what these blood slaves are used for; I suppose I need not elaborate further here."

He paused, then raised his hand and held up three fingers: "The starting bid for one blood slave is three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

In an instant, not only the people in the hall were bidding, but even those in the private rooms were bidding.

"Four thousand!"

"Five thousand!"

"Seven thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

Everyone's bidding for the 'blood slaves' was exceptionally fierce.

Under her mask, Yuan Yao's face showed not the slightest smile.

Her gaze fell upon the blood slaves confined in the cages; thinking that some of them had been deceived into this situation, her heart felt as if a great stone weighed upon it.

Blood slaves, living human beings, yet are used by evil and demonic cultivators as objects for blood‑sacrifice cultivation.

Is a human life really worth so little?

Yuan Yao saw the despair in the eyes of those blood slaves.

He also saw auctioneer Fang Lao reveal a satisfied and greedy expression upon hearing the auction price continue to rise.

This is a business.

In this place, there is no talk of human ethics and morality.

Yuan Yao first glimpsed this dark side of the cultivation world, and she actually gave rise to the thought of completely destroying the blood slave market.

It seemed the few people inside the cages sensed Yuan Yao's gaze, and they continually directed scorching, pleading looks at her.

Yuan Yao pressed her lips together.

Song Yan, sitting beside Yuan Yao, seemed to notice her emotional fluctuation, he turned his head toward her and softly called: "Yao Yao."

This call temporarily suppressed Yuan Yao's rather irrational thought.

Yuan Yao lowered her eyes, avoiding the scorching gazes of those few blood slaves.

As one blood slave after another was sold at high price, the auction also welcomed its most eye-catching item.

——half a treasure map.

Fang Lao directly took out a mechanism box from his storage space, smiling and saying to everyone: "This box contains the treasure map of the Eighth Continent; it is said that the location marked on this map not only has abundant treasures and divine weapons, but also——"

"Heaven, Pride, Order!"

These three words were like a thunderclap, exploding in everyone's ears, and the crowd instantly erupted.