Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Cultivation Through Copulation.

Episode 43: Ambush

A few auction items passed by.

The herbs said to be good for stamina,

“I, I! I’ll take it! Five mid-grade Spirit Stones!”

Some fat old man paid extra and took it.

An item that seemed like a simple magical tool,

“I won the bid! It’s mine!”

Some little kid paid twenty mid-grade Spirit Stones and won the bid.

In this way, various auction items came out and were mostly sold for the price of a dozen mid-grade Spirit Stones.

The auctioneer conducted the auction very well.

“This auction item is practically a steal.”

“Five mid-grade Spirit Stones! Any more bids? If not, it’ll be sold for five mid-grade Spirit Stones!”

“Twenty-five mid-grade Spirit Stones! To think I’d be able to get this item at this price!”

While conducting the auction, he added various comments, sometimes provoking and sometimes encouraging people to participate in the auction.

Perhaps because of this, the atmosphere in the auction house was generally heated and the auction prices were relatively high compared to the items.

Yuk-gyeong sat with his arms crossed, observing the auction house.

Yuk-gyeong’s sole target was the Warm Yang Grass!

The Warm Yang Grass, the core ingredient of the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Then, when one auction item appeared, Yuk-gyeong’s eyes widened like lanterns under the mask.

“This auction item will give everyone a break. It’s a metal fragment discovered in some ancient ruins. This metal, with some unknown characters engraved on it, is made of a very unique material with unknown origins.”

That?

That was circulating here at this time?

Yuk-gyeong knew what it was.

He also knew what it would become later.

That was definitely an item from the original work. Yuk-gyeong knew better than anyone how good that item was and how to use it.

“The auction will start at one intermediate Spirit Stone. Bids will increase by fifty lower-grade Spirit Stones each time.”

A choice had to be made.

Should I go for the Warm Yang Grass, the main ingredient for the Foundation Establishment Pill that will appear at the end,

or this piece of metal that could become a treasure later on?

Maybe I should place a bid. If I get it cheaply, I might still have enough to buy the Warm Yang Grass.

“One intermediate Spirit Stone stone and fifty lower-grade spirit stones, offered. Two intermediate Spirit Stones!”

As Yuk-gyeong participated in the auction, others who had been hesitating began to join in.

They weren’t particularly interested, but if it was cheap, they were willing to buy. Yuk-gyeong wasn’t worried, knowing these people would drop out after a few rounds of bidding.

Yuk-gyeong’s expression changed when the price reached ten intermediate Spirit Stones and the bid increment changed to one intermediate Spirit Stone.

“Twelve intermediate Spirit Stones! I thought this auction item would give everyone a break, but the response is hotter than expected! Could there be a secret to this piece of metal?”

Hmm?

I didn’t expect it to become a competition.

The auctioneer inadvertently fueled the price war. Saying things like that made even those not interested take another look. They’ll see it’s just an ordinary piece of metal, though.

Yuk-gyeong looked at the people raising the bid following his.

A man wearing a very crude wooden mask and a woman with her face covered by a veil were glaring at Yuk-gyeong.

Oh, glaring at me? What are you staring at?

Yuk-gyeong glared back at them.

That item is mine, you people.

As Yuk-gyeong was turning around, someone who had been observing his jade mask closely shouted.

“Ah! That man is the Jade-Faced Scholar!”

“What? The Jade-Faced Scholar? The seducer who lures both women and men and then kills them brutally?”

“That’s right. They say his unique jade mask can’t be forged. He’s a notorious criminal mainly active in the east of the Yue Kingdom, not in Manho, so I just realized.”

Only then did people express their shock and point fingers at the man with the jade mask, the Jade-Faced Scholar.

So, my criminal identity has been exposed. I did come here boldly wearing the jade mask for that reason. But being caught and pointed at feels strange.

As the fake identity of Yuk-gyeong was revealed to everyone, a few people at the auction murmured. Only those unaccustomed to the appearance of a criminal.

“Still, it’s an item that a famous criminal is after. Could there be some secret that others don’t know?”

“Oh, come on, as if. Who’s this Jade-Faced Scholar? He’s famous? I’ve never even heard of him.”

Most people didn’t care much. It’s not unusual for criminals to attend a dark auction. Today, it just happened to be the Jade-Faced Scholar.

The fact that the Jade-Faced Scholar wasn’t getting much attention was partly due to the known level of his cultivation.

“The Jade-Faced Scholar? Some say he’s at the Foundation Establishment stage, others say Qi Condensation stage. But those who’ve seen him fight say he can’t be at the Foundation Establishment stage.”

“I also heard he’s not quite up to the Foundation Establishment stage. He’s likely at the Qi Condensation stage.”

The demoness Chae Eon-jeong didn’t display her true skills under the Jade-Faced Scholar identity, leading to such misunderstandings.

Considering she was actually at the Foundation Establishment stage, maintaining a Qi Condensation stage disguise would have been easy.

In any case, that’s why only a few at the dark auction paid attention to the Jade-Faced Scholar.

Thanks to this, interest in the metal fragment waned, allowing Yuk-gyeong to compete with just one team. The duo who had been glaring at him earlier.

“Fifteen mid-grade Spirit Stones! Fifteen!”

The price had already reached fifteen mid-grade Spirit Stones. Yuk-gyeong was considering using all his assets for the value of the metal fragment. He only hoped he wouldn’t have to.

“Twenty mid-grade Spirit Stones! Twenty!”

Yuk-gyeong casually showed his palm to bid.

When he glanced at the duo competing against him, they were trembling and couldn’t easily raise their palms.

Can’t they afford twenty mid-grade Spirit Stones with their assets? I still have more to spare.

Despite Yuk-gyeong’s light provocation, the two looked defeated and hung their heads.

“Twenty-one mid-grade Spirit Stones! Any more? Twenty-one, twenty-one! Yes! Sold for twenty-one mid-grade Spirit Stones! Congratulations!”

Yuk-gyeong stood up from his seat, handed over twenty-one mid-grade Spirit Stones, and received the metal fragment.

The metal fragment he received had a peculiar sheen. It bore inscriptions of unknown origin and had no aura surrounding it.

At a glance, it seemed like an ordinary piece of metal.

Yuk-gyeong carefully wiped the metal fragment and tucked it into his bosom. Can’t lose this. It’s too precious.

As Yuk-gyeong returned to his seat to wait for the Warm Yang Grass auction, he heard whispers from behind.

“Seems like a lot of big shots are after the Warm Yang Grass.”

“Even Jeungsan Merchant Guild, the top in Manho, is involved? It’s a huge merchant guild that deals with hundreds of high-grade Spirit Stones worth of goods daily.”

“Only the Jeungsan Merchant Guild stepped in? I heard that even the Deathblood Sect, one of the three great sects, is determined to acquire the Warm Yang Grass.”

The Jeungsan Merchant Guild? The Deathblood Sect?

Even Yuk-gyeong, who was always cooped up inside the Dark Moon Sect, had heard of these massive forces. Such places could easily offer not just mid-grade Spirit Stones but even high-grade ones.

There’s no way I can compete with them financially.

It’s hopeless, truly hopeless.

I can’t get the Warm Yang Grass.

GG.

Should I just stay and watch the Warm Yang Grass auction for fun?

With the participation of such powerful forces, the Warm Yang Grass was sold for several high-grade Spirit Stones.

Considering the original price of Warm Yang Grass, it was an absurdly high price. But in terms of its value, it wasn’t excessively expensive either.

Yuk-gyeong left the auction house, regretting the loss of the Warm Yang Grass.

There will be another opportunity to find it somewhere.

I don’t necessarily need to break through the Foundation Establishment stage through the Earthly Path.

The Earthly Path, with its strong medicinal properties, also had a corresponding level of toxicity. Thus, cultivators who achieved the Earthly Path often spent years in seclusion to absorb its medicinal effects.

Thinking about that, there wasn’t a compelling reason to hastily consider the Earthly Path. I just wanted to get my hand on a Foundation Establishment Pill because I was getting frustrated.

As Yuk-gyeong walked with these thoughts, he sensed a strange presence that touched his keen senses.

“There are people following me.”

What else to expect from a dark auction? They wash their hands of any responsibility after the sale is made.

With this, would anyone with a low cultivation level come to buy anything? Even if they did, it would all be taken away. Yet, because the items on offer are so rare, people flock like moths to a flame.

It’s fitting for the cultivation world, where only those with strength can have everything.

Yuk-gyeong thought to himself as he loosened up. Then, he naturally bent over as if exposing a weak point…

Someone attacked at the right moment!

“Die!”

Yuk-gyeong spun his body in response to the attack, creating a Spiritual Qi shield while counter attacking with a palm strike.

An ambush is a jackpot if successful, but often backfires when it fails.

This is because the ambusher assumes they will succeed and doesn’t consider the reverse outcome.

Perhaps that’s why the attacker, hit in the chest by the palm strike, staggered back repeatedly.

“Ugh!”

“Haap!”

However, to Yuk-gyeong’s surprise, there was not just one attacker, but two.

As the masked man staggered back from the chest blow, the female cultivator beside him gave a shout and fired a magical tool.

The flying sword magical tool surged towards Yuk-gyeong, who activated a protective talisman with a flick of his sleeve to block it.

Clang!

The exchange of moves in an instant clearly showed who had the upper hand.

Yuk-gyeong was unscathed, while the male and female attackers were severely injured.

However, the two attackers did gain something: they realized that the Jade-Faced Scholar was at the Qi Condensation stage, not Foundation Establishment.

If he were at the Foundation Establishment stage, they would have had to scatter and flee, but against a Qi Condensation cultivator, they had a good chance of winning together. Thus, they judged it wasn’t a completely hopeless fight.

Yuk-gyeong altered his voice and asked,

“What is it that you’re so desperate to obtain?”

The man who had been hit in the chest spat blood and replied.

“Ha, trying to buy something without knowing its value. Since you’re about to die, I’ll tell you. It’s a key.”

The voice sounds familiar. Strangely familiar. Even though his face is hidden behind a mask, I feel like I know him.

Anyway, I’ll think about that later.

He says it’s a key? This isn’t a key.

As far as Yuk-gyeong knows, this doesn’t function as a key.

“A key?”

“Yes, a key!”

With that, the man straightened his posture. Having tended to his chest wound, the two of them charged at Yuk-gyeong together.

The two worked together quite seamlessly.

“Haap! Go! Snowfang Sword!”

“One Qi Fire Blade Technique!”

From one side, a spell was launched, and from the other, a flying sword came.

Yuk-gyeong realized that just defending wouldn’t solve anything.

They all have to be killed anyway.

He unleashed all his power in one go!

From Yuk-gyeong’s sleeve, talismans poured out like a waterfall, and from the ground, a magical tool soared up.

Pararararak!

The entire area was covered with talismans. The talismans flashed brightly, activating to seal the surroundings, strike with lightning, and spew flames, fiercely attacking the two.

“So many talismans!”

“How can there be so many talismans!”

Despite their shock, the two quickly tried to use defensive spells. The two cultivators, who seemed skilled in battle, reacted swiftly.

But that won’t do.

Yuk-gyeong wasn’t going to just stand by and watch that happen.