Chapter 3257 — An Unexpected Complication

It was only that if Wei Zhao had known beforehand that the Kreston auction house was territory of the Overseas Cultivators' Association, he probably would not have come at all—or if he had, he would not have used the identity of Wei Zhao; he would have disguised himself, worn the Thousand Silk Mask, perhaps, or simply let Yang Qiqi handle everything herself.

Who could have guessed that the Overseas Cultivators' Association would put up a building on the very doorstep of Yang Qiqi's family? But having come, there was no dodging it now. Wei Zhao had no choice but to grit his teeth and see it through.

"So that's how it is... Why didn't you say so before?" Wei Zhao sighed.

"Before... well, Brother Wei Zhao, you never asked, did you? What's this—Brother Wei Zhao, it looks like you've had some trouble with this Overseas Cultivators' Association?" Yang Qiqi was no fool; putting the pieces together, she could guess a thing or two.

"That's right. I killed one of their elders..." Wei Zhao said.

"What? Elder Chen?" Yang Qiqi started, then said in astonishment. Plainly she knew of this matter as well.

"Qiqi, you know about it?" Wei Zhao was rather surprised too; he had not expected Yang Qiqi to be aware of this.

"Everyone in the Overseas Cultivators' Association knows. Elder Wang came back alone, and Elder Chen—a top expert at the peak of the mid-Heaven Tier—was killed by someone. They even called us together for a special meeting to discuss how to respond. But those of us on this side don't know much about the other side, and I'm not a core member, so I don't even know who killed Elder Chen or how it was done. I only sat in on the meeting as an observer. They warned us all not to provoke the ancient sects over there at will," Yang Qiqi said.

Wei Zhao nodded and said, "It's fine. We'll take things as they come. Once the auction is over, we leave this place at once!"

"All right, then... what about the collaboration with XXX Entertainment Company..." Yang Qiqi hesitated a moment before asking.

"Let's set that aside for now. We'll go straight to X Island," Wei Zhao said after a moment's thought.

Xu Shilan and Cheng Yiyi said nothing more. Safety came first, after all; the matter of making money would have to wait. Who could help it that this He Tianzu of theirs had taken a fancy to Xu Shilan at first sight?

Soon the auction formally began. As at any other auction, once the host had recited the rules, proceedings slid smoothly into the bidding.

Wei Zhao glanced over the auction catalogue. The items listed were all rare treasures of heaven and earth—for ordinary people, at least: things to prolong life and cure illness. There was basically nothing of real benefit to cultivation.

Still, on reflection it made sense. The Overseas Cultivators' Association had probably bought up a batch of spirit medicines from somewhere; the ones useful for cultivation they kept for themselves, while these were the leftovers, acquired purely to turn a profit.

These things that looked so unremarkable to Wei Zhao drew no small amount of competition. But that was only natural—most of those attending the auction were ordinary people, and what they sought were precisely these life-prolonging treasures of heaven and earth.

At last they came to what Wei Zhao needed: the blue crystal. Wei Zhao drew a deep breath and nodded to Yang Qiqi, signaling that he would do the bidding in a moment. For now he meant to keep a low profile and stay out of sight as much as possible.

"Next we have a blue crystal, a rare and precious gem..." The auctioneer gave a rundown of the blue crystal. He did not know, of course, that this thing could be used for artifact refining—and even if he had known, it would have made no difference, for artificers had vanished from the world. Even if it were meant for an artificer, it was nothing more than an ornament now.

The people who came to this auction were after life-prolonging elixirs and treasures of heaven and earth; a gemstone crystal like this was of little interest to them. Luxuries of that sort were plentiful at any other auction house. They had not come here to study such things.

So when the blue crystal was brought out, it drew little attention. Even those who had been bidding earlier now picked up their teacups, ready to take a sip of water and relax before the next round of bidding.

Wei Zhao, meanwhile, was watching that blue crystal closely!

"Eight million!" A voice rang out, unhurried. The blue crystal's starting price was five million—at auctions like this the reserve was generally low, and the price was driven up by bidding.

Only, few people wanted the blue crystal. In truth, the auction house had put it out merely as a palate cleanser, a chance to relax, with no expectation of fetching a good price.

"Nine million." Another man called out his bid.

But after he bid nine million, the previous bidder did not raise again. Plainly he had not set his heart on it; once someone topped him, he gave up. Perhaps he was even a shill, there to keep the auction from falling flat or going unsold.

"Ten million." Yang Qiqi began bidding, for she too could see that the auctioneer was about to ask for the first call—clearly no one else was paying the thing any mind.

The moment Yang Qiqi's price came out, the man who had bid nine million seemed taken aback. He glanced toward Yang Qiqi's box and promptly, cheerfully gave up. The blue crystal's material was notFaint Light of Old Dreamsin, which sharply diminished its value.

So ten million was, to be sure, not an unworthy price to pay for it—but an item of such quality was of no great use either.

To collectors and engravers, of course, a flaw in a crystal was a fatal wound. To Wei Zhao, it did not matter in the least. He meant to use it for artifact refining; the blue crystal was only an auxiliary material, to be ground into powder, and the impurities inside would not affect its use at all.

After Yang Qiqi's bid, no one else called a price. The auctioneer raised his hammer and asked, "The gentleman in box twenty-seven bids ten million. Is there any higher bid? Ten million, going once..."

Just when Wei Zhao thought the prize was as good as his, a somewhat familiar voice rang out, and Wei Zhao's brows knit at once!

"Twelve million!" The bidder was none other than He Tianzu, the man they had met in the parking garage!

Wei Zhao did not quite understand—what was He Tianzu sticking his nose in for? His sudden bid left Wei Zhao unable to fathom his purpose. By any reasonable account, this auction house belonged to the Overseas Cultivators' Association, and He Tianzu was the young master of that association. What could he possibly lack? There was no need for him to bid at all—he could simply take it home and decline to sell it! (Yunhai Shuku WeChat: yuren22, you are welcome to add!)