novelraw Chapter 1614 - 1613 - Trading Pass
Chapter 1614 - 1613 - Trading Pass
"You want to break their foundation?" Karu was sitting with him in a private room of an auction house. While Lind would normally be suspicious of being spied on, they had paid for privacy wards he confirmed were fully functional and had no alternative uses to spy.
The main thing was too many powers came for such auctions and privacy was impossible to breach without being discovered, even by Fiends. It was not a major issue as he was sure the records of who was in what suite allowed detailed tracking regardless for them to decide to attack or note certain figures.
It was a mixed auction of resources and slaves. Lind was not there only for privacy as he needed something hard to get ahold of.
[Next up, we have one of our Dao Level Trading passes. As you all know, only 5 of these are offered up a year and expire after 50 years. The opening bid will start with 500 peak Divine Qi stones.]
The older man running the auction summoned a platform with a black slate on it. Lind and Karu instantly tuned in and were not shocked by the price. No one was.
The pass was coveted by many not just for privileges and opportunities that would otherwise be denied but the owner would be invited to inner circles of power in the Glass Palace.
The reason they existed was to churn investment and also to discover rising merchants willing to come forth.
Many burned their entire wealth to get it but it was rare for someone to burn it all without recovering the cost in the near future.
"Are you sure you want to do this? We do not have that much leeway." Karu warned him but Lind only smiled. Now that his Forging and elixirs were able to be used again, making simple Qi stones was not a concern.
He only had to hold back on incorporating his harmony at any point in their creation.
In the last few months, they had been cycling between selling and purchasing to make enough for the auction. Demonic armor, robes, and so forth were in high demand. The fact Lind could make generic ones that had far better results was a risk but it paid off without drawing too many eyes.
Profit made many blind to any red flags they should be looking for.
It helped that his quality was still a bit hit or miss too. He showed he was not an expert, but promising so it allayed suspicions.
Karu played her part as she purchased resources for resuming a trip in the future for many years. The cost of teleportation from Glass Palace was insane so leaving on foot or by artifact was the norm.
It was perfectly normal to attempt to grasp the trading pass. Glass Palace had many connections where that pass would be valid. Its price was actually decent!
The bidding had already exceeded 1000 peak Divine Qi stones in the brief period the pair spoke but Lind slammed his fist to the jade controls.
[VIP #12 placed 2000 peak Divine Qi stones!] The old man seemed to nearly break his neck looking up at the VIP rows of the auction hall.
The massive jump removed a lot of competitors but was hardly a lock. Lind went silent as the bidding went insanely high to 6000 peak Divine Qi stones before he struck again.
[VIP #12 has bid 10,000 peak Divine Qi stones!] Such a fortune was enough to bankrupt all but the elite powers of the Divine Lands. Lind's sales had been lucrative but he also had things from the Eternal Flame Guild that allowed him to make critical trades under the table for precious Qi stones.
He took a loss, but not much.
By the time someone noticed what those elixirs were, they would be long gone too.
Silence filled the auction hall before the old man began to count down. Lind did not lower his guard and he was not wrong.
[VIP #3 raises bid to 12,000 peak Divine Qi stones!] The old man looked like he would pass out. His golden lined robes seemed to shimmer to support him!
There was no way to contact one VIP to another but the message was clear to Lind. Someone wanted that pass badly but he needed it more. He sighed as he put the maximum as Karu looked pale.
[VIP #12 raised the bid to 15,000 peak Divine Qi stones!] Lind believed that was close to the record for a pass auction. There were no more bids and they finally won the pass.
Lind instantly paid and had the pass delivered.
A lithe young woman in silver robes with matching hair delivered the pass after confirmation arrived.
It seemed so simple but his eyes shifted to emerald as he dissected it.
He needed the pass for its true privileges but he wanted to know what else it did. The auction proceeded and some of Lind's elixirs and demonic creations made some profit for them that made Karu regain her color.
He lost himself in the intricate artifact until he frowned.
"What is wrong?" Karu affirmed they never got the pass before so she knew nothing about it.
"If I imprint this, it will know who I am." She tilted her head before her eyes went wide.
"You mean–?" Lind nodded.
"They literally embedded a trigger for my blood. I do not know how they got it, but they do." Lind considered the Fiends he had fought and it seemed he had underestimated how long term the Great Bastard planned ahead.
The Glass Palace was a trap and he had underestimated how deep it went. If they made the passes laced with triggers, what else was ready to trip him up? He was glad he only had his own creations but the previous confidence in his under the table deals waned.
He also found the final trap but not for him.
"This is also keyed to detect nine-tail variants." Karu shivered but they needed the pass to work. Lind saw the auction was ongoing and an idea came to him.
He quickly accessed the rules for the pass and smiled.
He then focused back on the auction and waited until it got to a sort of break.
[We will now be preparing our Mystery Grade items so please spend your time looking at the wares of the house of Silent Lotus Pavilion.] Lind looked up at the Heavens as if they were mocking him.
Karu seemed to know the solution but the time it took to analyze the slate left them with no option.
Buying a slave outright would draw attention but after spending on the pass, getting a slave would actually lower interest in them. A rising power had many weaknesses and getting the pass from them was another option.
Voluptuous to just obscene men and women were paraded on the stage to varying interests of the crowd but all were just Immortals.
It was only when a small figure was brought out that Lind felt his anger truly rise.
Her red face was clear to all but sickening interest came from the lower crowd as she was pulled into the spotlight by the auction master.
[This is a rare slave. She is a half-dryad.] Frowns filled the room and Lind knew why. Unlike other races, dryads were extremely slow to mature. They could become world class beauties but a hybrid was unlikely to have that.
More, the other race would incur Qi deviation and other issues that made the appeal less. Still, some salivated at her youth.
Karu shared his anger and gave him her share of reserves to bid.
Despite the vile desire in others, Lind was able to win her with a simple bid of 2000 mid Divine Qi stones.
He once more slammed his fist to have her brought to their suite.
A short while passed before he answered the door and the same woman was there with the child. Her face, however, was cold but he glared right back. It seemed she saw something and a warmer smile came to her as she handed over the branding imprint to him.
He quickly scanned it and frowned.
"Why does it need a blood scan from me to you?" She looked embarrassed at his question as it did violate the privacy of the VIP suites.
"Forgive me, sir, but it is due to the new security–" His demonic aura flared and his single good eye glared hard at her but she only coughed. "It should not be an issue, should it?"
He looked at the nearly whimpering girl and then sighed as his demonic aura flared and freed her.
Shock flared on their faces but it was a step he could take as the new owner.
The little girl finally looked up and he saw she had dichromatic eyes. One was a pure green with the other was bright blue. A human and dryad set of eyes.
Her pale skin never seemed to have been touched by the sun but her hair looked rough until he saw it was partially plant based.
Her imbalance of her 2 bloodlines was clear to him.
"Sir–?!" He then felt Karu stare coldly over his shoulder.
"What we do with our slave is our business, is it not?" The silver haired woman nodded quickly and pushed a crystal slot on the artifact with her to complete the transaction.
Freeing a slave at purchase was acceptable. The funds were transferred so the Glass Palace did not care but the Fiends would. Lind knew that for certain.
He smiled at the small girl as her woolen clothes were not bad. They were not rags so she was valued by the auction house but her eyes were full of tears.
He made sure the seals were in place before he gently patted her head.
"I swear to Heaven and Earth, no harm shall befall you so long as I have the power to prevent it." His Oath settled and she looked up at him in stunned awe. New tears fell as she suddenly wrapped her arms around him and Karu gently hugged them as well.
He would make them pay. He would make the entire Glass Palace pay!