novelraw Chapter 93 : News of the Sect Leader
Chapter 93 : News of the Sect Leader
After dealing with these two malevolent demon cultivators, Chu Sang took out a small paper crane, formed a hand seal with her fingertips, and placed a tracking spell on it.
The paper crane seemed to come to life and flew away.
The four exchanged glances and followed the paper crane to a hidden underground chamber in the outskirts of the city. Sure enough, they found more than a dozen young men and women who had been imprisoned. Not far away, there were scattered bones, presumably the remains of unfortunate victims whose vital essence had been drained by the two demon cultivators.
When they saw strangers arrive, the captives thought they were more evil cultivators coming to take their lives. They all trembled and cried out in fear.
"Don't be afraid, we're here to rescue you!"
Chu Sang and Tantai Ming worked together, violently kicking open the iron cages and cutting the ropes binding them.
After rescuing all the survivors, they first sent them to the tavern owner's establishment.
The owner immediately found his brother among the crowd. Their reunion after a brush with death was truly a tearful moment of joy.
The next day, the owner reported the matter to the local authorities. Before long, the other rescued individuals were also reunited with their families.
"If we had come a few days earlier, we might have saved more people," Tantai Ming said indignantly. The justice-minded youth couldn't stand to see human suffering.
"We can't be blamed for that," Chu Sang shook her head and turned to question the lead constable, her voice slightly lowered, "If evil cultivators appeared in the city many days ago, why wasn't it reported to the Eight Great Immortal Sects earlier? If it had been reported a few days earlier, fewer lives would have been lost."
"Esteemed immortal, you may not be aware, but we reported this matter to the Eight Great Immortal Sects long ago, hoping they would send immortals down the mountain to eliminate the evil cultivators," he also sighed. "But several days passed without any response from above. We... I had no other options..."
Is the efficiency of the Eight Great Immortal Sects really this low?
Moreover, this is the Central Continent, where all the major immortal sects are gathered. How dare those evil cultivators come here to cause trouble? Are they deliberately seeking death?
Even Tantai Ming could see that something was amiss with this situation. However, as cultivators from a small sect, they had little influence and no real authority to criticize the illustrious Eight Great Immortal Sects.
After bidding farewell to this small town, Tang Yanling led the way, guiding them to Xianping City.
As expected of a famous major city in the Central Continent, it was extraordinarily lively and prosperous.
The wider cobblestone streets were lined with shops selling all manner of goods. Besides the usual necessities for common people, there were even many cultivators setting up stalls to sell spirit herbs, medicinal herbs, and the like.
At a glance, the streets were packed with people, crowded to the point of congestion.
"What's happening over there? There are so many people," Tantai Ming asked curiously, wanting to explore everything.
"You've come at an opportune time. You've encountered Wanqiu Tower's auction that happens once every five years," Tang Yanling said. "It's rumored that they have several impressive items as the finale this time. I'll take you there to have some fun." She led them expertly through a small alley that led directly to Wanqiu Tower's back door.
It seemed the Second Senior Sister had some connections.
After a light knock on the door, a haughty servant opened it shortly after.
Upon seeing the Second Senior Sister, he quickly changed his expression and bowed respectfully, "Miss Yanling, are you here to see our Young Master?"
"No, I'm bringing some junior brothers and sisters to look around the auction, to see if there are any items of interest."
"If the miss desires anything, why go to such a place? Just tell the Young Master directly, and he will naturally give it to you."
Tang Yanling's eyebrows furrowed as she very principled rejected the offer, stating that she would not be bought by mere wealth and treasures. She also told the servant to tell that Young Master to save his efforts, as she had now sealed her heart with cement and was impervious to such advances.
Chu Sang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought that Second Senior Sister was desperately romantic as the rumors suggested, and was about to advise her to go dig wild vegetables. Unexpectedly, she was indeed as cold and beautiful as her appearance suggested, only to be admired from afar and not to be trifled with. Truly a role model for female cultivators!
"Well then, this is what the Young Master asked me to give to you. The money bag contains a total of 100,000 high-grade spirit stones. Does the miss not want them?" The servant regretfully withdrew the storage bag.
"What are you saying? Your Young Master and I are close friends. Since it's his sincere gesture, how could I refuse?" Tang Yanling gently took the money bag. "Tell him I've received his kind intentions."
The servant's face lit up with joy, and he quickly said, "Then, miss, about tonight's dinner with our Young Master..."
"Oh, I'm not going."
The rejection was crisp and decisive.
Look at how the smile on the servant's face froze, unable to continue the conversation. Second Senior Sister, don't you feel guilty at all?
In fact, it was proven that Second Senior Sister did not possess such a useless thing as a conscience. She leisurely led her two junior brothers and sister into the auction hall to broaden their horizons.
Why two junior brothers and sister? Because Mu Chihuai was not here for the first time.
Not only was it not his first time, but he even had a VIP purple-gold card, which allowed the three of them to snag a third-floor private room.
"How do you have a purple-gold card everywhere you go?" Tantai Ming, the common player, was envious to tears.
Mu Chihuai, the pay-to-win player, expressed that with money, one can do as they please.
He had frequented various major trading houses since he was young and was even acquainted with several owners.
The auction began with great fanfare. A charming female cultivator in red robes carried trays with a smile, while a tall, muscular male cultivator beat golden drums, delivering a long and flowery opening speech.
Both the ground floor hall and the private rooms were packed with people.
The crowd was dense, and the noise was deafening.
Countless eager gazes were fixed on the exhibition hall below. Amidst such a lively atmosphere, even Chu Sang felt her heart racing, unable to resist the urge to make a grand gesture.
Although this wasn't her first time at an auction—the last time at Treasure Forging Tower was mainly to cause trouble—this time she was truly participating as an auction guest.
"Little Junior Sister, if you see something you like, tell me. Sixth Senior Brother will buy it for you," Mu Chihuai said, opening a folding fan and fanning himself.
Tantai Ming's eyes lit up, shamelessly tugging at his sleeve, "Sixth Senior Brother, Sixth Senior Brother, I, I, I want something too!"
"First pay back the few thousand spirit stones you owe me for sword refinement," Mu Chihuai said, narrowing his eyes and smiling harmlessly. "Also, this outfit of mine is worth a million spirit stones. If you dare to tear it, I'll feed you to my darlings as compensation."
Tantai Ming bristled and shrieked, "How dare you, Mu Chihuai! A mere few thousand spirit stones is enough to shatter our brotherhood. This is too much!"
"So, when are you going to pay me back?"
Tantai Ming pretended not to understand and turned to tug at Chu Sang instead. "Little Junior Sister, Little Junior Sister!"
Chu Sang waved her hand, "I don't have money either."
As a diligent little bee working tirelessly for the sect, all the spirit stones she had earned had long been contributed to the public funds.
Tantai Ming, not giving up, went to find Tang Yanling. "Second Senior Sister~"
Tang Yanling extended a slender finger and gently pushed him away, regretfully expressing that she couldn't help. Her zither strings wore out too quickly, and she had come this time intending to find some better quality thousand-year silkworm zither strings for herself, leaving her with no extra money.
Very well, a world where only Tantai Ming was hurt had been achieved.
After enjoying the spectacular performance of the sad puppy for a while, Chu Sang quietly took out a bag of talismans, called over a servant, and whispered a few words in his ear.
The servant hurriedly left with the talismans and returned moments later. The bag of talismans had now become a large bag of spirit stones.
Tantai Ming: Little Junior Sister, my goddess!
The first item in an auction must always have some substance, enough to ignite the atmosphere among the cultivators present.
The first exhibit was a high-grade spatial spiritual tool—a portable cave dwelling.
It's worth noting that spiritual tools themselves are already precious enough, let alone spatial spiritual tools. Once the "spatial" label is added, the value increases tenfold.
To create a spatial spiritual tool, at least a Fusion stage powerhouse is needed to open up the space, and then it must be crafted by an experienced grand tool refiner... Not to mention how high the crafting difficulty is, just looking at this configuration shows how sought-after this spiritual tool is.
Chu Sang was also itching to have it. "I want it!"
This was indeed a good item. Having a portable cave dwelling that could be freely enlarged or shrunk was equivalent to carrying a house around every day. In the future, when they went to secret realms or dungeons, they wouldn't have to camp out in tents or sleep in caves anymore.
But, it was so expensive.
The cultivators present were highly enthusiastic, and the price had already been bid up to 500,000 high-grade spirit stones.
With such an explosive start, Chu Sang felt like a girl from the slums who couldn't bear to look at such things. In the end, she emptied her pockets to come up with 300,000 high-grade spirit stones, and with the additional 300,000 high-grade spirit stones from Sixth Senior Brother's aid, they finally managed to successfully bid for this mobile version of a small villa.
Chu Sang was absolutely thrilled with it.
She wasn't particularly interested in the later exhibits.
In the second half, there was an exhibit of a bow and arrow spiritual tool.
In a cultivation world where sword cultivators are as common as dogs and blade cultivators are everywhere, this bow and arrow spiritual tool stood out as particularly eye-catching. Especially interesting was its introduction as a replica of the legendary divine bow [Karma Burns Three Realms].
Although people generally scoff at the mention of replicas, a replica of a legendary divine artifact is a different matter altogether.
Legend has it that the whereabouts of that divine bow are unknown, and no one has ever been able to draw it.
The arrows shot from the divine bow never miss, pursuing targets for hundreds of miles without stopping until striking the enemy dead with a single hit.
It sounds so awesome!
This is exactly the kind of thing that old cheaters like Chu Sang love.
Although the replica isn't as powerful as the legendary divine artifact, it still has the ability to lock onto and track enemies.
Chu Sang was interested, but not overly so. She was more intrigued by the legendary divine bow itself.
The auction lasted for three days. As the final day was drawing to a close, the man on stage mysteriously announced that there was one last exhibit.
The crowd speculated for half a day but couldn't guess what this final exhibit would be.
Compared to the flashy exhibits auctioned earlier, this so-called finale piece seemed rather unremarkable.
It was a scroll map.
And it was a scroll map that was mostly damaged.
"This scroll is no ordinary scroll, but a legendary treasure map, hiding the secrets of an ancient inheritance ground, waiting for the destined one to unlock it... If any of you are interested, please place your bids!"
Mu Chihuai, lacking interest, rested his chin on one hand and yawned. Noticing Chu Sang's apparent interest from the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but give her some advice, "Let me tell you, as someone who's seen it all, I've encountered this kind of trick many times. It's nothing but a gimmick about some ancient secret realm or mysterious place waiting for the destined one, all mystified nonsense, specifically designed to fool gullible rich people like you who have more money than sense."
"Don't fall for it."
Chu Sang confidently replied, "That may not be the case. What if I'm lucky?"
"Coincidentally, that's what everyone else thinks too," Mu Chihuai said, his phoenix eyes glancing at the crowd below.
In the end, Chu Sang still went ahead and bought this treasure map.
She remembered that in the original story, Qin Xixue had pieced together a set of treasure map scrolls and then opened some kind of ancient secret realm inheritance site. It was an important plot device.
One of the fragmentary map scrolls seemed to have been auctioned off here at Wanqiu Tower.
If she wasn't mistaken, it should be the one in her hands now.
For opportunities like this that were clearly prepared by the Heavenly Dao for its own beloved daughter, Chu Sang indeed couldn't agree that she truly had a chance to collect them all. However, as long as she had one fragment of the scroll in her hand, no matter how many scroll fragments Qin Xixue obtained, she would absolutely not be able to complete a full set.
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
The auction came to a successful conclusion.
Chu Sang acquired a portable cave dwelling and a fragmentary map scroll.
Tang Yanling bought the new zither strings she had been longing for.
Mu Chihuai acquired an ancient alchemy book containing records of several earth-grade pills, which would greatly benefit his current cultivation.
Tantai Ming was cuddling with his newly acquired spirit sword wife, cultivating their relationship, while the Weeping Blood Sword Qi's blade hummed, wanting to kill that little cheap sword.
After completing the procedures and the crowd dispersed, Tang Yanling led them through winding corridors to the back courtyard.
A dignified man in luxurious clothing sat in a pavilion drinking tea, holding a book in his hand. Seeing Tang Yanling approach, he smiled slightly, "Ling'er, you were willing to come see me after all."
This man was the master of Wanqiu Tower, Wei Hanmo. Anyone with eyes could see that he was a suitor of Tang Yanling.
Unfortunately, the beauty paid him no attention.
"My junior brothers and sister have something to ask you. How much?"
Wei Hanmo put down his book and said with a smile, "Your junior brothers and sister are naturally my junior brothers and sister too. Talking about money would hurt our relationship. Whatever questions you have, feel free to ask."
Tang Yanling turned back to look at Chu Sang, "He says he won't charge. Ask whatever you want."
Chu Sang also felt no guilt about getting something for free. She stepped forward and asked straightforwardly, "Hi, Siri, we'd like to inquire about the location of our Sect Leader and Master."
She was also curious about how Wanqiu Tower, which claimed to know everything under heaven, operated.
Wei Hanmo looked at her in confusion, seeming to want to ask who Siri was, but then remembered that Wanqiu Tower was supposed to be all-knowing. He coughed lightly and extended a slender hand from his long sleeve.
"Ha, didn't you say it was free?" Chu Sang said cautiously, clutching her wallet.
"...Do you have any personal effects?" Wei Hanmo reminded with a gentle smile. "Without anything, even if an immortal descended, they couldn't find the person."
"Date of birth, name, personal effects—the more conditions, the more accurate the information we can track and divine."
Chu Sang knew nothing about the Sect Leader's affairs. She blinked and looked at her senior brothers and sisters.
Tang Yanling pondered for a moment and took out a small package. "The Sect Leader's hand seal. Will this do?"
"???" How could such an important item as the Sect Leader's hand seal be with Second Senior Sister?
Tantai Ming explained in a low voice, "Our master doesn't stay in the sect much and doesn't really manage sect affairs. Big Senior Brother and Big Senior Sister are both sword fanatics, so they can't be relied upon. Second Senior Brother is trustworthy and meticulous in handling matters, but the Sect Leader didn't give him the gold seal. Instead, she handed it over to Second Senior Sister, letting her manage the sect's affairs big and small on a daily basis."
"Oh." So that's how it is.
Chu Sang wanted to see exactly how Wanqiu Tower found people, but this was clearly an internal secret. Wei Hanmo didn't give the four of them a chance to stay. "Come back here in three days, and I will tell you the news."
Three days later, they came to Wanqiu Tower as agreed, and Wei Hanmo truthfully brought them news about the Sect Leader.