Chapter 681: Slave, West Lake

"And that's not all!"

"There's also a sixth-rank 【Source of the Time Dao】 up for auction, hehehe… This is a precious item!"

"Comrade He, if you're interested, you absolutely must not miss this auction!"

He Pingsheng nodded.

How rare is a Source of Time?

The key is, it's sixth-rank.

That means this thing can be contemplated for a very long time.

And since Time, like Space, is profoundly mysterious, even grasping a fraction of it would be invaluable to He Pingsheng.

"Good!" He Pingsheng agreed: "Is the auction tonight?"

Mo Sang said: "Correct. You've come at the perfect time—the auction is tonight!"

"By the way… do you have anything good on you?"

"If you do, you can bring it out and put it up for auction—it'll enrich our auction's offerings!"

He Pingsheng shook his head, refusing outright.

He certainly had good items—such as that single drop of 【Nan Ke Immortal Spring】, and six-rank supreme 【Sacred Essence Pills】, all highly sought-after.

But He Pingsheng had no intention of putting them up for auction.

Now came the waiting.

Wait!

Soon, night arrived, and the Shenghuo Merchant Association's auction finally began.

As the top merchant association in Zhu Que Imperial City, the scale of this Shenghuo Merchant Association auction was immense.

The entire venue was filled with three thousand people.

He Pingsheng naturally sat in a VIP seat; his spiritual sense swept over the surroundings, curious to see who had come to the auction.

He found the attendees' cultivation bases could be described in four characters: 【uneven】.

Many Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Many Nascent Soul cultivators.

Hundreds of Soul Transformation cultivators, and dozens of Void Refinement cultivators.

As for Body Integration cultivators, there were several.

He Pingsheng could not see through the Body Integration cultivators, but Zhou Qingmei sat beside him—he could ask her.

Moreover, Zhou Qingmei had cultivated another technique He Pingsheng gave her, called 【Steal Heaven, Swap Day】, which allowed her to disguise her cultivation base.

Now, she displayed only Soul Transformation First Layer.

He Pingsheng had not let her reveal her true cultivation base—otherwise, it would cause a commotion.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome, esteemed elders and fellow cultivators, to the Shenghuo Merchant Association's auction!"

"You all probably recognize me, hehe—I am Master Mo Sang!"

Indeed, today's auctioneer was Mo Sang.

Mo Sang glanced around and continued: "Though many of you have attended countless Shenghuo Merchant Association auctions, I must repeat the basic rules—please understand!"

"First, the auctioned items fall into two categories!"

"One: items owned by our association—these, once won, are yours outright, with no fees!"

"Two: items consigned by others—apologies, but for consigned goods, our association charges a five percent commission!"

"Second rule: in our association, no matter your cultivation level, you may not suppress others by force—we uphold fair bidding!"

"Anyone who challenges this rule will be immediately expelled and permanently blacklisted—let this serve as a warning!"

"Even if you are a Body Integration cultivator, it still applies!"

As he spoke, Mo Sang's tone was resolute.

Everyone knew the Shenghuo Merchant Association's depth, so no one dared provoke it.

"Alright, those are the main rules!" Mo Sang waved his hand: "Now, let us begin with the first item. This may not interest high-level elders, but Nascent Soul and Foundation Establishment cultivators will find it especially appealing!"

"First auction item: one fifth-rank 【Rootless Herb】, capable of breaking through a Nascent Soul cultivator's bottleneck!"

"This item is owned by our association—please bid boldly!"

"This auction does not accept spirit stones, unless you possess supreme spirit stones!"

"Alright, everyone—place your bids!"

"If you wish to bid, stand and present your item—our evaluation team will assess it."

He Pingsheng's eyes narrowed slightly as he leaned back against his seat.

How to put it?

He had never seen an auction like this before.

No spirit stones—only barter.

Hehe… interesting.

No wonder so many enjoy this kind of auction—it lets you see not only the association's items, but also what others bring; if you need something, you can trade directly with the owner.

Hmm…

It felt a lot like a trading fair.

But this was freer and richer than any trading fair.

After all, there were so many people.

Soon, Nascent Soul and Foundation Establishment cultivators began bidding.

The items they offered were beneath He Pingsheng's notice.

So He Pingsheng turned to Zhou Qingmei beside him and asked: "Have you ever seen… supreme spirit stones?"

Until now, He Pingsheng had only heard of supreme spirit stones—he had never seen one.

What were supreme spirit stones?

According to the 【Thousand Customs of the Spirit Realm】, such things appear only within spirit veins.

After extracting the soul of the spirit vein, cutting out its spirit heart yields a supreme spirit stone.

Thus, supreme spirit stones are exceedingly rare.

Ordinary mid-rank spirit veins contain none—only high-rank spirit veins can yield one supreme spirit stone.

In supreme spirit veins, perhaps ten or so can be cut.

That's how precious they are.

Thus, supreme spirit stones are not the same as other spirit stones at all.

Zhou Qingmei shook her head: "Your servant has never seen one."

Soon, the stage transaction ended.

Mo Sang returned to the stage, smiling: "Congratulations to the friend who won the first auction item. Next, the second item… ah… this one is special!"

"This item—or rather, this person—is consigned."

As he spoke, Mo Sang took a deep breath, a trace of sorrow crossing his face: "To be honest, this is one of my kin."

"A stunningly beautiful human woman, at Nascent Soul Third Layer."

"And, as far as I know, this woman remains a virgin."

"Now, auctioning a human female slave, Nascent Soul Third Layer—place your bids!"

No sooner had Mo Sang finished than a man in silver Dao robes stepped out from behind, pulling a rope.

At the other end of the rope was a woman, clad in a dirty green Dao robe, her whole body grimy.

She kept her head down, tangled hair hiding her face.

Countless spiritual senses surged forth, sweeping over the slave's features.

In an instant, the entire hall erupted into frenzied excitement.

Because she was beautiful!

"What a beautiful woman…"

"Hahahaha… this one's interesting!"

"With a slave like this, you'll never be lonely!"

"Tsk tsk tsk… I want this woman!"

But when He Pingsheng saw the woman, his face darkened instantly, turning grim and ashen.

Because he recognized her.

West Lake True Person!