Overlord of the Wilderness

The VIP hall was spacious and luxurious, easily large enough to accommodate several hundred people. In the center of the hall stood a massive stone platform, obviously for displaying items.

Zhaang Ye glanced around the VIP hall and saw twenty to thirty people scattered about. They were all dressed identically, wrapped tightly in cloaks that left only their eyes exposed.

Zhaang Ye wasn’t surprised by this. The items auctioned or traded in the black market were valuable and mostly of dubious origin, so both buyers and sellers in the VIP hall would subconsciously protect their identities. They didn’t want anyone to know the origin or destination of the goods.

After sizing up the situation, Zhaang Ye found an empty seat and sat down. But the moment he did, he felt something was wrong. The seat was unbelievably cold. As soon as he sat, his entire body stiffened.

’Hm?’ Zhaang Ye’s gaze swept across the room and quickly landed on a tall, thin man.

The man emanated a bone-chilling cold. It was far more intense than the air on a snowy mountain; as it spread, it froze the ground and even the space within a ten-zhang radius. The chair Zhaang Ye sat on had been frozen by this very chill, which explained its abnormal coldness.

Feeling the intense chill, Zhaang Ye hesitated. He knew that some `Martial Arts Expert`s disliked strangers getting close, so they would release their `True Qi` to mark a personal territory. Anyone who entered this space would be attacked. This tall, thin man was clearly the reclusive type. ’If I stay here, he’ll probably attack me...’

Shaking his head, Zhaang Ye was about to move away when the tall, thin man suddenly glanced at him. With that one look, Zhaang Ye felt a frenzied surge of cold erupt within the ten-zhang radius. In an instant, the `Water Qi` in the air crystallized into flowers of ice.

Caught in the middle of it, Zhaang Ye felt as if he’d been plunged into an ice cellar. A frigid mist, visible to the naked eye, crept up from the ground and snaked toward his legs. If he couldn’t stop it, his entire body would soon be frozen solid.

"Hmph!"

Zhaang Ye was annoyed at being attacked so silently. He stomped his foot lightly, and an immensely powerful force shot into the ground, causing the entire VIP hall to tremble. The cold aura from the tall, thin man was instantly shattered by the stomp, its assault broken.

"Hm?" Seeing Zhaang Ye shatter his cold aura, the tall, thin man grunted softly. Zhaang Ye’s display had clearly exceeded his expectations. Just as he was about to strike again, a voice suddenly rang out in the VIP hall. "My apologies for the wait, everyone."

As the voice spoke, a middle-aged man in a black robe materialized in the center of the hall. Most of the people present were great experts of the `Martial Arts Ninth Layer`, yet not a single one of them had seen how he appeared.

’A `Half-step True Dao` expert!’ Zhaang Ye knew the man’s cultivation level with a single glance. The tall, thin man was clearly wary of this black-robed `Half-step True Dao` master. The moment the man appeared, he ceased his aggression and simply closed his eyes to rest.

The black-robed man began to speak, his voice unhurried. "This black market exchange will proceed in two stages. First, we will auction a selection of rare items, with the highest bidder taking each prize. The second stage will be an open trade, where you may present your own `Treasure`s and specify what you wish to exchange them for. Now, everyone’s time is precious, so this old man will not ramble. Let the auction begin."

With those words, the black-robed man clapped his hands lightly. A servant girl immediately approached, carrying a `White Jade Plate`. A light red cloth was draped over it, concealing the first auction item.

Indeed, the black-robed man lifted the red cloth to reveal an ancient `Martial Arts Secret Manual`. He announced slowly, "This is an incomplete `Martial Arts Secret Manual`. It records a `Top-Grade Combat Skill` called the `Broken Gold and Shattered Jade Fist`. When used, the practitioner’s body becomes as hard as gold, and their fists become sharp enough to easily shatter an opponent’s weapon. The final ten pages of this `Broken Gold and Shattered Jade Fist` `Secret Manual` are missing, leaving only thirty. The starting bid is one hundred `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s. Highest bidder wins."

’An incomplete `Top-Grade Combat Skill`!’ Several `Martial Artist`s were tempted upon hearing the auctioneer’s introduction. The power of a `Top-Grade Combat Skill` far surpassed that of an `Advanced Combat Skill`. Once cultivated to the `Great Success Realm`, it could even allow one to battle those at a higher level. Though this `Broken Gold and Shattered Jade Fist` was incomplete, it was still extremely valuable for `Cultivation`.

"One hundred `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s!"

"One hundred twenty `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s!"

"One hundred fifty `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s!"

...

Six or seven `Martial Artist`s placed bids, and the price quickly soared to five hundred `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s. In the end, a tall `Martial Artist` successfully purchased the incomplete `Top-Grade Combat Skill` for five hundred twenty `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s.

Next, the black-robed man auctioned several other items, including a massive mineral mine, two bottles of `top-grade Qi Gathering Pill`s, and dozens of `Pseudo Spirit Fruit`s with various effects. Zhaang Ye had no interest in these things, so he simply sat in silence, watching the bidding.

After a few more items were sold, the black-robed man took a pale green `Jade Bottle` from the servant girl’s tray. Sweeping his gaze across the hall, he slowly announced, "This is a bottle of `Top-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill`s. There are seven pills inside. Refining the `Medicinal Power` of all seven can improve a `Martial Artist`’s natural aptitude by up to a `Second Grade`. Don’t miss this if you have the need. The starting bid is one thousand `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s, with a minimum bid increment of fifty stones. Highest bidder wins. Begin!"

Unlike the previous items, the auction for the `Top-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill`s was met with an awkward silence.

Although `Top-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill`s were exceptionally rare, they were of little use to `Martial Arts Ninth Layer` experts. Anyone who managed to reach the `Ninth Layer` of the `Martial Dao` would not have poor aptitude to begin with, so they had no need for such pills. As for buying them for their juniors, the item was simply too expensive. Even the wealthiest experts were reluctant to spend so much on `Top-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill`s.

Seeing that no one else was bidding, Zhaang Ye was secretly delighted. He called out, "One thousand `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s!"

A long moment passed in silence.

Just as Zhaang Ye thought he had secured the bottle of `Top-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill`s, a hoarse voice called out, "One thousand two hundred `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s!"

The speaker was the tall, thin man. Acting like a big spender, he had raised the price by two hundred stones in one go, causing Zhaang Ye to frown.

"One thousand three hundred `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s!" Zhaang Ye was determined to win this bottle of `Marrow Cleansing Pill`s. He wouldn’t back down unless the price rose to an unacceptable level.

Hearing Zhaang Ye raise the price, the tall, thin man immediately countered, "One thousand five hundred `Essence Stone`s!"

Zhaang Ye’s brow twitched. ’This old bastard has already reached the `Martial Arts Ninth Layer`,’ he thought. ’Why is he fighting me for this?’

With that thought, Zhaang Ye called out, "One thousand eight hundred `Essence Stone`s!"

Zhaang Ye had suddenly hiked the price by three hundred `Essence Stone`s, hoping the tall, thin man would be discouraged and back down, saving him some stones in the process.

But Zhaang Ye’s plan evidently failed. The tall, thin man seemed to have locked onto him. The moment Zhaang Ye finished speaking, the man called out again, "Two thousand `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s."

"Two thousand five hundred `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s!" At this point, Zhaang Ye steeled himself and raised the price by a whole five hundred stones.

After the price jumped by five hundred, the tall, thin man apparently decided it wasn’t worth it and said no more. However, he shot Zhaang Ye a cold look, one so frigid that even a fool could feel the malice in it.

Zhaang Ye sneered and met his glare without flinching. He might not be as strong as this man, but if he chose to flee, not even an expert at the `Late-stage Martial Arts Ninth Layer` could necessarily stop him. He had no reason to be afraid of this tall, thin fellow.

"Two thousand five hundred `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s! Is there any other bid?" The black-robed man repeated the question three times. When no one responded, he declared, "Two thousand five hundred `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s, sold!"

After the sale, it was time for the exchange. Zhaang Ye didn’t have 2,500 `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s, but he had brought the High-grade and `Top-grade Essence Qi Stone`s left over from his `Cultivation`. Converted, their value was exactly two thousand five hundred `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s. After handing over the Top-grade and High-grade `Essence Qi Stone`s, Zhaang Ye finally had the bottle of `Top-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill`s in hand. The transaction went off without a hitch.

Zhaang Ye’s sole purpose for this trip was to get the `Top-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill`s. Now that they were in his possession, he was just about to leave and get started on improving his aptitude when the black-robed man spoke again. "Everyone here is worldly and knowledgeable. You must know that a spatial fissure once tore open in our `Land of Divine Abandonment`. To `Seal` it, an `Ancient Great Power` struck the ground twice across a fifty-million-li expanse. Those two palm strikes formed a colossal `Spatial Array`, locking down this region of space and creating the `Land of Divine Abandonment` we know today."

"The central region of the `Land of Divine Abandonment` is home to numerous `Spatial Array`s. These arrays are incomparably profound. Some can lock down a region of space, while others can create an entire world. If you were able to study a `Spatial Array` up close, it would be of immense benefit to your `Cultivation`. Heh, and if you happen to possess a `Boundary Stone`, you could even try to use a `Spatial Array` to create a `Little World` inside of it..."

After his lengthy preamble, the black-robed man finally got to the point. "This old man has in his possession an incomplete map that leads to an `Ancient Space Array`. You may bid on it if you are interested. This map is missing roughly one-third of its information, so the starting bid will be five hundred `Mid-grade Essence Qi Stone`s. You may begin bidding now..."