CHAPTER 995: CHAPTER 188: BIZARRE RELICS AUCTION

The auction is limited in number, and only Lu Li, Ophelia, and Bishop Jon will attend.

The punishment for breaking the hidden rules has yet to manifest, and Lu Li proceeds directly from the Spiral Hall to the seventh level, a place the Dark Twins dare not tread.

The auction house embedded in the rock wall reveals a passage leading deeper, with no eerie figures wandering about.

Cracks in Ophelia flicker with dark red lava, and Bishop Jon’s body is covered in Cursing Runes beneath his clerical robe as they enter the dim, expansive cave hall with Lu Li.

Dozens of stone pillars are scattered in the corners of the cave hall, with some edges of the pillars glowing faintly, revealing the round tables and outlines beside the pillars.

The invitation in Lu Li’s hand suddenly burns, consumed before he can discard it, and correspondingly, a distant stone pillar lights up dimly.

Lu Li shields himself from the strange gazes cast within the cave hall, moving towards the faintly glowing stone pillar in the center as directed by the invitation, taking a seat at the round table and sinking into a long wait.

Guests with invitations arrive one after another, taking their seats.

Bishop Jon tells Lu Li that the stone pillars seem to have some kind of isolating power, capable of blocking inward and outward exploration.

The dimly glowing stone pillars increase in number, and Ophelia begins counting down the remaining Dark Stone Pillars.

When only the last unlit pillar remains, a new outline emerges from the doorway.

Steam surges violently from the lonely figure, enveloping the outline. Unscented blood flows beneath its feet. It follows the guidance of the invitation towards the last stone pillar.

All guests with invitations have arrived, and as the cave hall trembles, a silhouette appears at its center.

Lava pours downward, flowing across the crystal-clear top of the rock,

The dark red ceiling illuminates the cave hall, and the guests in front of the stone pillars observe each other, also glimpsing the withered and ancient Tree Person at the center.

"Do not leave the pillar of lava, it protects inside and protects outside."

The withered and ancient Tree Person slowly and obscurely opens its cracked lips, then gradually disappears.

"Begin the first auction item."

As the echo dissipates, three outlines next to the stone pillars darken, then appear in the center of the hall.

In skeletal form, they produce from their abdomens bottles of human-made wine from the Old Era.

As the skeletons sway, its identity is revealed: "Evil Spirit... Shadow of Evil Friends... original form."

Ophelia’s dark red fissures flicker for a moment.

It’s unknown if she was surprised by the weight of the auction or by her kind being auctioned as goods.

Few guests are interested in the original form of the Shadow of Evil Friends. One guest even bids with Strange Currency first. Ultimately, the evil spirit original is purchased by the third bidder at the cost of a Butterfly Dragon juvenile.

The seemingly beautiful and elegant name conceals an ugly, corrupt anomaly, recorded in the "Strange Community Atlas," which Lu Li dared not open after losing his humanity.

The three skeletal anomalies return to the stone pillar, with a lump of muddy Butterfly Dragon juvenile placed on the round table in front of them, while the evil spirit original bottle sits on the buyer’s table.

The second auction item is a simple magic cube. The auctioneer doesn’t introduce its purpose, yet it is eventually sold for the price of a street block of Midnight City Main Station.

Lu Li watches silently, waiting for the item told by the God of the Deep Sea that has yet to appear at auction.

After several rounds of bidding, the twelfth guest takes the stage and lifts their auction piece: "An indestructible corpse."

Ophelia awakens Lu Li from his thoughts, directing him towards the center of the hall.

The dark eyes, reflecting the dark red lava on the ceiling, fall towards the center where a corpse is held up by a giant hand. A scarf, coat, and backpack hint at the identity of a merchant.

Lu Li knows what the merchant’s identity means and the layers of the Inner World it represents. However, the other guests do not, nor does the owner—not due to ignorance but inability to articulate.

Lu Li spends 100 Strange Currency to buy back the merchant from the mumbling owner.

As the merchant wakes due to Lu Li, many unusual gazes are inevitably drawn.

"Return to the Inner World, Merchant Anthony will tell you what happened." Lu Li tells the third merchant he found.

The auction continues, the items varying in value. The merchant, worth 100 Strange Currency, is not the lowest valued item, and several items remain unsold due to excessively low bids.

As the auction nears its final count, the last guest to enter the auction house appears at the center of the hall.

Blood spills, scarlet steam veils its outline, and murmurs filled with the sound of rushing air emit: "Three-sevenths of a Crystal Strange Currency. Useless to me, incomplete."

Ping—

A coin arcs through the steam, bouncing as it hits the ground.

The guests quietly gaze at the incomplete Crystal Strange Currency, revealing its bizarre aspect: fervor and greed.

"A Weird Town..."

"A Spirit Town, one!"

"One hundred thousand standard souls."

The value of the Crystal Strange Currency exceeds Lu Li and their imagination, even if only three-sevenths remains.

Ultimately, its price is fixed at "the entire Midnight City territory within hell," purchased by a demonic double-horned humanoid lizard.

The blood-red outline disappears from the center of the hall, allowing a few minutes of silence for the guests to regain composure before another guest appears with the final auction item.

In a spotless, unwrinkled, crisp black suit, with mysterious black hair tied into a ponytail, exquisite makeup, and white lace gloves, she holds a giant faded eyeball,

"An ancient deity’s eye that has lost its vitality," the human woman says softly with a smile.

A delicate hum of whispers spreads through the cave hall.

"She and you... the same... black hair."

In the center of the cave hall, the eerily calm black-haired woman continues, "Please allow me to introduce it. This eyeball was once part of an ancient deity, wounded in an unimaginable battle, its outcome unknown. Over the long years, it has gradually been lost, and finally, it came into our possession. With it, you can wield all low-level water Magic... without any cost."

With the seductive whispers from the black-haired woman, a trickle of water gathers before her, swirling around her like a Spirit.

"A branch line adjacent to the Midnight City Main Station."

Guests begin to bid for it one after another.

"Lu Li..." Ophelia whispers.

This is the very purpose of their journey.

"A live main worm of the Plague-Carcass Layer..." an ominous abomination bids.

As the voice fades, Lu Li speaks: "One Crystal Strange Currency."

The cave hall falls into deathly silence with his composed words, desire and greed brewing amidst the chaos.

The black-haired woman looks at Lu Li, suddenly lifting her head, her blood red lips parting as her nose wrinkles, lightly sniffing something.

Lu Li furrows his brow slightly, raising his right hand to cover the inverted pentagram-like burn on the back of his left hand.

The black-haired woman watches Lu Li’s movements, as if discovering something interesting, her narrow blackish eyes gradually squinting.

"Let me first see if you truly have a Crystal Strange Currency."