novelraw Chapter 143 : Auction (1)
Chapter 143 : Auction (1)
Chapter 143: Auction (1)
After the plot against Sewoon, in which the three factions of "Righteous–Evil–Demonic" had formed a grand alliance, had been finalized and about half an hour had passed.
“It was exactly as you guessed — those three were gathered. The third faction that joined was, as expected, the Heaven-Piercing Sect.”
In a seldom-visited back alley, Nameless had quietly spoken to someone.
Hidden in the shadow and having watched the meeting of the Qingcheng Sect’s successor all along, Nameless had relayed everything — from the Qingcheng Sect’s scheme to the fact that the Heaven-Piercing Sect had newly joined.
“Of course, to stop the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden, they had no choice but to call the Heaven-Piercing Sect leader.”
“That ghost of a fellow’s sorcery had increased since we last saw him. We absolutely must not take him lightly.”
Nameless, who had infiltrated the Heaven-Piercing Sect in the past and thus knew their viciousness, offered the warning.
But the other party shook their head and said something Nameless had never expected.
“No, it’s actually a good thing.”
“...A good thing?”
To Nameless’s surprise, the person he had been speaking with turned out to be far more unexpected than he could have guessed.
Before the successor entered the building, an elderly woman had spoken to him from the porch.
Nameless had not realized then — the person disguised as an old woman was none other than Sewoon.
Right after finishing the job with Gu Yongyeon, Sewoon had dragged the still-sleeping Nameless and headed for the Black Market in Sichuan.
Nameless, taken along before he could properly react, had been bewildered because he had had no idea there was a black market in a place like this, but Sewoon had immediately given his orders.
[Within a few days, the Qingcheng Sect’s successor will surely come here. Then sneak in quietly and gather all their information.]
At first Nameless had thought the instruction odd, but in less than a day the Qingcheng Sect’s successor had shown their face.
And Nameless, just as Sewoon had wished, had infiltrated their side and gathered all their information.
At that moment, Sewoon had answered Nameless’s question in a low voice.
“I told you I was going to take control of the unorthodox factions.”
“...!”
“And the Five Evils of the Demonic Alliance came personally as the first offering — isn’t that good news?”
“!!”
What on earth was this guy thinking?
Nameless was genuinely astonished.
To treat what should have been the crisis of an alliance between the righteous, the unorthodox, and the demonic — an unprecedented attempt on Sewoon’s life — not as a danger but as an opportunity.
The Heaven-Piercing Sect was a conglomerate of mad scribal sorcerers who would not hesitate to perform human sacrifice to improve their magic.
But in Sewoon’s eyes, they were a fake.
‘The truly mad one was the Master standing right in front of him...’
While Nameless was admiring that fact, Sewoon was rapidly turning over plans in his head.
Of course, he was thinking through how he would punish the Heaven-Piercing Sect.
There was only one reason they had become his top target.
The plan to smash the Qingcheng Sect had already been designed.
They had obtained all the information about the poisons the Heaven-Piercing Sect had bought at the Black Market and their future plans.
Only time was needed now.
He planned to set the trap, allow them to move as if of their own accord, and then chew them up bone and all.
So Sewoon had left the captured prey alone and instead made the Heaven-Piercing Sect his first mark.
Even before his return, the Heaven-Piercing Sect had been the first to kneel before the Blood Demon and become a thrall of the Blood Cult.
Well, that was to be expected.
If they could master the Blood Demon’s earth-shattering sorceries, they would be monsters who would carry out orders without hesitation even if half the world died.
‘Only one to watch out for: the Heaven-Piercing Sect leader.’
An Cheongmyeong, the Eerie-Qi King, was a scribal sorcerer from the Eastern Lands who had mastered bizarre sorceries unlike those of the Central Plains.
But more dangerous than that was his deeply suspicious and cunning personality.
‘But there is always someone cleverer than the clever one.’
That someone was himself.
Perhaps Sewoon was the personification of craftiness.
Good — that would do.
In an instant, Sewoon completed the plan to annihilate his enemies in his mind.
‘I’ll release poison on the Heaven-Piercing Sect and, at the same time, use this chance to extract internal information from the Demonic Alliance.’
Just as a flash popped into Sewoon’s eyes, Nameless asked casually.
“So what will you do now? Should we return to the family and look for countermeasures first?”
“No.”
Sewoon shook his head.
“We’ll tie the first button right away.”
“!!”
Then Sewoon put the plan into action.
Ssss!
The frail appearance Sewoon had shown changed completely.
His bent back straightened and the wrinkled skin turned into that of a young man.
From the old woman’s guise he shifted into another mysterious form.
Seeing that, Nameless let out a hollow laugh.
“Heh heh. Master, you keep getting more talented. You even picked up Bone-Shrinking Art at the Beast Palace.”
The art to freely manipulate one’s bones and skeletal structure was called Bone-Shrinking Art.
But, to be precise, the power Sewoon had used was not Bone-Shrinking Art exactly.
‘So the Ink Blood had that kind of auxiliary ability too.’
It was one of the functions of the Ink Blood.
The essence of the Ink Blood was the perfect control of every part of the body by one’s will.
In other words, it already contained an advanced enlightenment above Bone-Shrinking Art.
And when that power was combined with the soul-returning sound art of the Soul-Returning Melody of the Pointing Finger...
A completely different body and a completely different voice came together.
Sewoon had acquired an ultimate disguise technique that not even Tang Muyeol or Tang Serin would ever detect.
“But what did you mean by tying the first button? You mean, hit one of them right away?”
“No, we’re going to the market first.”
“Huh?”
Go to the market?
At Sewoon’s seemingly random remark, Nameless involuntarily blinked.
Here he had expected Sewoon to do something mad at any moment.
Why was he suddenly being so leisurely?
While he tilted his head in puzzlement, Sewoon had already been walking away for some time.
“What are you doing, not coming?”
“Hmm, shopping alone for food shouldn’t be a problem, right? Then I’ll go catch up on some much-needed sleep...”
Nameless, looking as if he were about to collapse from overwork, said that.
“If you help me properly, I’ll turn the things we buy at the market into your weapons.”
“You sleep when you’re dead! How dare you aim at our Master? You miserable bastards! Alright, let’s go, Master!”
Following Sewoon’s words, Nameless immediately straightened his back and strode ahead as if he had never been reluctant in the first place—though he clearly had no idea where he was going.
Watching that sight, Sewoon let out a quiet chuckle.
Before long, the two arrived at a place called the Hall of Hidden Bids (暗札堂).
It was none other than the auction hall where the most expensive goods of the Black Market were bought and sold.
Upon entering the Hall of Hidden Bids, a Black Market attendant handed them each a mask.
However, Sewoon deliberately chose not to cover his face.
Rather, he seemed to be saying, “Go ahead and look all you want.”
It was a rare sight in a place like this, so every gaze in the room turned toward him, but Sewoon didn’t care in the slightest.
[Wow, look at all these people. And this building—why is it so damn fancy? They must’ve plastered the place with gold and jewels.]
Nameless sent a sound transmission, gawking like a country bumpkin visiting the capital for the first time.
Just as Nameless said, the interior of the Hall of Hidden Bids was breathtakingly lavish.
But it was only natural.
This place was, in truth, the very heart of the Black Market.
Every item sold in auction here was personally acquired and managed by the Black Market itself.
There was even a saying: If it’s not sold at the Hall of Hidden Bids, then it either doesn’t exist—or the world hasn’t yet discovered it.
[Enough chatter. Get ready—the auction’s about to begin.]
The two found seats in a suitable location.
At the center of the semi-circular hall stood an elevated platform.
‘Where is he?’
Woom!
No one else noticed, but a new light flickered in Sewoon’s eyes.
Though most of the people hid their identities behind masks, it didn’t matter.
Fsshh!
Through the power of the Eye of Spectral Perception, Sewoon could see clearly the energy flowing within everyone around him.
Just as he scanned the surroundings with the eyes of a hawk—
‘There you are.’
Sewoon’s lips curled faintly as his gaze landed on a man leaning casually against the wall on the opposite side.
Even though the man had used advanced sorcery to suppress his internal energy to its very limits, Sewoon could still detect faint traces of that unique demonic aura.
He was none other than the right hand of the Heaven-Piercing Sect Leader, and the one who held the position of vice leader—
‘The Nine-Fox Illusionist, Gongsun Beon (公孫樊).’
He had appeared at the Hall of Hidden Bids.
The Qingcheng Sect successor had already left the Black Market and returned to the sect.
But unlike them, Sewoon had predicted that the Heaven-Piercing Sect would participate in this auction.
With only the Floating Jade obtained by Gui Yeong-ja, it was impossible to create a “Cursed Poison” that could elude the detection of the Priestess Sect Leader.
To refine it into a true Cursed Poison, they would need a special material.
‘And that item can only be obtained here.’
Completely unaware that someone was targeting him, Gongsun Beon yawned behind his mask.
“Now then, our first item—obtained from Hainan Island...”
At that moment, the auctioneer from the Black Market stepped up onto the platform and began the bidding.
Everyone in the hall held a wooden bidding plaque in one hand.
When an item they wanted appeared, they would raise their plaque to signal their bid.
[Wow, that’s the Twin Daggers once used by Jing Ke?!]
[Hey, Master. Could you buy that for me? Just that one, please??]
[I swear, I’ll be good! I’ll really be good this time!]
Countless rare relics and treasures paraded across the stage—
Yet Sewoon stood motionless, unmoved as stone, letting each item pass.
The things he wanted were not those trifles.
And finally—
“Next, a rare artifact: the eyeball of the great demon beast, the Green Antelope (鹿蜀)! Starting bid at one hundred gold taels!”
There it was.
At the same moment, a glint appeared in both Sewoon’s and Gongsun Beon’s eyes.
Gongsun Beon raised his plaque first.
“Yes, one hundred taels. Any other bids?”
No one else lifted their plaques.
No one intended to waste a fortune on something like a sorcerous relic.
Whish!
But then, Sewoon raised his plaque—vertically.
“Yes! We have a double bid!”
That gesture meant he was doubling the current price.
Gongsun Beon frowned, glaring at Sewoon.
Swish.
Then he raised his plaque horizontally.
That meant he was increasing the bid by thirty percent.
Whish!
“Gasp! A-another double bid just now!”
But Sewoon immediately doubled the price again.
Everyone—including Gongsun Beon—was dumbfounded.
‘What the hell—this lunatic?!’
Ignoring the stares directed at him, Sewoon remained calm.
This was the first step of his plan.
And that plan was simple—
‘Crush them with money.’
He had no intention of allowing them to obtain even a single ingredient necessary for creating the Cursed Poison.