Chapter 1271: Master Jingkong and Zhou Tongtian

Soon after, they arrived at a three-story golden pavilion. A gleaming golden plaque above the entrance bore the characters "Xuangguang Tower."

Inside Xuanguang Tower, an old man with white hair and beard, wearing a green robe, was dozing drowsily behind the counter. Several Foundation Establishment cultivators were drinking tea within the shop.

Murong Bo approached the counter, took out a black square token, and placed it on top. The shopkeeper's drowsiness instantly vanished. He picked up the token, carefully examined it, and then said with a broad smile, "Ah, honored regulars! Please come inside."

He led Murong Bo and the other five to the backyard. In the backyard was a simple wooden house, guarded by a tall man in a green shirt. Judging by his aura, he was clearly a Core Formation cultivator.

The man in the green shirt bowed to Murong Bo and the others, saying, "Junior Lu Xu greets the six seniors. These are Spirit-Concealing Straw Hats, which can hide your aura and identity, preventing detection by others' divine sense."

He took out several light green straw hats. Runes flickered faintly on the surface of the hats. He put one of the green hats on his head, and with a flash of green light, a misty green glow enveloped his body.

Wang Changsheng swept his divine sense, but as soon as it touched the green glow, it was blocked by a mysterious force.

"This is a rule set by the organizers to ensure safety," Murong Bo said. "I shall go first."

Murong Bo took a hat, put it on, and pushed open the door. Inside the room was a teleportation array about a *zhang* (approx. 3.3 meters) in size. Judging by its size, the teleportation range shouldn't be far.

Murong Bo stepped onto the array, a silver glow rose up, and he vanished. Wang Changsheng and the other four all donned the green hats and teleported away one after another. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan teleported together.

After a momentary blur, they suddenly appeared in a stone chamber over ten *zhang* (approx. 33 meters) wide. Inside the chamber was a corpulent old man in a red robe. Judging by the fluctuations of spiritual power around him, he was clearly a Nascent Soul cultivator.

The stone chamber had five tall stone doors, all tightly shut.

"Fellow Daoists, you may choose any passage you wish; all of them lead to the auction hall," the old man in red explained.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan walked to one of the stone doors. The door opened, revealing a bluestone passage over ten *zhang* (approx. 33 meters) long, where many figures could be seen moving about.

A dark light glowed between Wang Ruyan's eyebrows; it was her Dark Phoenix Eye. Even with Murong Bo leading the way, they wouldn't let down their guard.

Wang Changsheng fully extended his divine sense, carefully scanning the passage and the moving figures. Finding nothing unusual, the two then stepped inside.

Soon after, they appeared in a spacious and brightly lit hall. In the center of the hall was a circular platform over ten *zhang* (approx. 33 meters) in diameter, with a green jade table and three white jade chairs placed upon it. Around the circular platform were hundreds of green jade chairs.

There were over a hundred cultivators in the hall. All of them wore green straw hats, with a green glow enveloping their bodies, making it impossible for anyone to discern another's identity. Naturally, not all of them could be Nascent Soul cultivators, but with so many attending this auction, it seemed there would be quite a few items up for bid.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan found seats near the front and sat down.

"Oh, husband, it's Fellow Daoist Fang," Wang Ruyan exclaimed softly, a hint of surprise in her voice.

Wang Changsheng looked in the direction Wang Ruyan pointed. Fang Mu was seated in a corner, with a black coffin resting beside him. His expression was indifferent. Fang Mu was also an early Nascent Soul cultivator, but a strong aura of malice emanated from him, as if he had experienced countless battles.

The underground auction was divided into two parts: an auction phase and an exchange phase. Regardless of the phase, it was best not to display one's wealth, as it would be difficult to say what might happen if targeted by ill-intentioned cultivators. Fang Mu's behavior, whether based on some hidden advantage or intentional provocation, was unclear.

"This guy is probably doing it on purpose," Wang Changsheng thought to himself, "anyone who targets him will likely suffer." He had heard from Wang Qingshan that for a corpse, Fang Mu had pursued a Nascent Soul-stage demon deeper into enemy territory, was severely wounded, and had to withdraw from the major battle to return to the Yin Corpse Sect for healing.

"He raises many corpse puppets," Wang Ruyan said gravely. "If he overtly kills someone for their treasures, he'll be easily ganged up on. But if someone tries to kill him for his treasures and he retaliates, then no one can find fault with him. The fact that he dares to show his true appearance so brazenly suggests he probably has Nascent Soul-level corpse puppets." They hadn't interacted much with Fang Mu, but he was notoriously known as a necrophiliac. He and Huang Fugui were well-known cultivators in the Eastern Wilderness cultivating world.

A commotion broke out behind them. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan turned to look, seeing a fair-faced monk and a tall, thin middle-aged man enter. The monk wore a golden kasaya, with a string of golden prayer beads on each hand, and had a serene countenance. The middle-aged man wore a golden python robe, possessed a dignified expression, and looked like someone accustomed to high positions.

The golden-robed monk showed no spiritual power fluctuations at all. However, the middle-aged man emanated powerful spiritual power fluctuations, clearly indicating he was a late Nascent Soul cultivator.

"It's Master Jingkong and Fellow Daoist Zhou," someone muttered, "they've also come to the underground auction. It seems this underground auction is quite significant. I hope we haven't come for nothing." Someone in the crowd recognized the golden-robed monk and the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man was Zhou Tongtian, one of the three grand cultivators of the imperial family.

Zhou Tongtian and Master Jingkong sat down in a front row. Master Jingkong looked towards Fang Mu's location, clasped his hands together, and said, "Amitabha, blessed be. This fellow Daoist has too much karmic sin from killing. It would be better to commit fewer atrocities."

"Our paths are different; we should not conspire together," Fang Mu said blandly. He disliked Buddhist cultivators the most.

Master Jingkong said nothing further, silently turning the prayer beads in his hands.

A moment later, accompanied by a loud chime, three streaks of light descended from the sky, landing on the circular platform. They were a refined-looking middle-aged scholar, a plump and graceful young woman in a red skirt, and a portly young man in red. All of them were Core Formation cultivators, with the young man in red having the lowest cultivation level.

"It's Meng Yang! Why is he here?" Wang Changsheng's eyes flashed with surprise as he saw the young man in red. The young man in red was Wang Mengyang. He had been working for the Skywind Merchant Alliance. Wang Changsheng hadn't seen him in decades, and was surprised to find he had already reached Core Formation stage.

"Welcome, esteemed seniors, to this auction," the middle-aged scholar spoke slowly. "This auction is jointly organized by the Four Directions Merchant Alliance, the Eight Directions Merchant Alliance, and the Skywind Merchant Alliance. The source of the goods cannot be disclosed, but they are all excellent items. Our three alliances guarantee the safety of every bidder. The highest bidder wins, so please bid with confidence. After the auction, seniors may take turns presenting items for exchange. We will not charge any fees, but we are not responsible for any misjudgments." Wang Mengyang and the young woman in red sat down.

The middle-aged scholar flipped his palm, and with a flash of spiritual light, a wine jar made of white jade appeared in his hand. The jar glowed with spiritual light all over, clearly a magic artifact. He removed the seal, and a refreshing, unusual fragrance diffused throughout the air. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan caught a faint scent, and felt their bodies grow warm, with a pleasant warmth spreading through their limbs.

"Might I ask if any of you seniors have heard of the Murong family from the South Sea?" the scholar continued. "The Murong family was once the foremost cultivating family in the South Sea. At its peak, the Murong family could contend with any of the South Sea's ten major sects. The Murong family possessed a spirit wine called 'Flying Immortal Brew,' which is said to be somewhat helpful for breaking through to the Soul Transformation stage."

"The Murong family was annihilated almost ten thousand years ago," someone raised a doubt. "How could you possibly obtain Flying Immortal Brew now? And even if you did acquire this spirit wine, would you actually put it up for auction?"