The Portal of Wonderland
chapter-368

There was a magnificent courtyard in a certain corner of the Rising Sun City; it occupied a vast area. A grey-robed old man stood somewhere outside this courtyard with his hands hanging alongside his body. He often looked at the house that was in the middle of the courtyard with a hint of anxiousness on his face.

The whole house was shrouded in a layer of the grey light screen. The grey-robed old man stood far from the house, but he could still feel that it was exuding bursts of strong magic power waves.

This process continued for an hour. Afterwards, the intermittent bursts of magic power waves that the house was sending out all this time gradually came to an end.

The door of the house was pushed open after a moment, and Leng Yue Tong walked out at a slow pace. She was clad in a vibrant orange dress at the moment.

A tinge of radiant glow could still be seen in her beautiful eyes. Also, her whole body was exuding a mysterious wave of magic power.

"Congratulations Miss Seven for making such a great progress and entering the realm of the Seven Stars. You can attempt to do close-door practice to break through the Moon-rank after returning to the Main Altar." The grey-robed old man's face revealed a smile when he saw her. He then bowed and said.

"Thanks to the Mysterious Dark Flower that I could break through the bottleneck this time. At the same time, my cultivation also made an astonishing progress. Oh, by the way… how many days we have until the Rising Sun City's auction?" Leng Yue Tong asked.

"Miss Seven, you have been occupied with your closed-door practice for seven days. The Rising Sun City's auction is scheduled to take place tomorrow," the grey-robed old man replied. Then, he took out two invitation cards and handed them over. He then continued, "These are the invitation cards from the Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion and the Jade Spirit Pavilion. Please take a look at them, Miss Seven."

Leng Yue Tong took them and threw a cursory glance at them. Then, she said, "It has finally appeared. I have to get hold of this thing at any cost this time. Well, I never expected that the Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion will also have the Mysterious Dark Flower. Elder Bei, I'm sorry to bother you, but you will have to go there on behalf of me. You have to ensure that those three flowers fall into our hands."

"Young Lady, you feel relived. This subordinate knows what he has to do," the grey-robed old man replied.

...

In a certain side hall of the Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion...

"Miss Xiu, this Soaring Flame Crystal… have you heard of it ever before?" Shi Mu asked.

"No, I went to ask Manager Ge. But, he said that he has never heard of it either. I think that this thing has been taken out by the Jade Spirit Pavilion as their final product. So, it ought to have some extraordinary features. It may either be some kind of precious spirit material, or it contains some special energy?" Zhong Xiu shook her head as she said.

"The opposite party is fully aware of the fact that the star stone is going to be our final product at the auction. But, they still chose to take this thing out. This indicates that it ought to have some profound function," Shi Mu spoke in a thoughtful manner.

There was the image of that Soaring Flame Crystal on the invitation card that Shi Mu held in his hand. The image looked almost the same as the dark red transparent crystal stone that he had previously obtained from the underground cave; the underground cave was on the outskirts of the Peaceful Sun City.

Moreover, this was the second time Shi Mu heard the name of the Soaring Flame Crystal. The first time he heard its name was when he was in the middle of escorting goods' mission. He happened to listen to the secret conversation of Leng Yue Tong and some other person one particular night during that journey. And, the Soaring Flame Crystal had been mentioned by them. However, Shi Mu couldn't figure out the usage of this thing until now.

"Can Leng Yue Tong possibly come to the Rising Sun city especially to take hold of this Soaring Flame Crystal? Can it be possible that this matter is somehow concerned with Liu An?" Shi Mu made a conjecture inwardly.

Just then, a knock on the door was heard. It was followed by Manager Ge's voice, "Elder Zhong, this subordinate has inquired about an important matter that I need to report to you."

"Manager Ge, what did you hear?" Zhong Xiu opened the door and asked Manager Ge to come in. After that, she asked.

"I don't know why this rumor has begun to spread throughout the city today. So, I made some inquiries and found it somewhat strange. So, I thought to report to Elder Zhong," the old man surnamed Ge said.

"What's that rumor?" Zhong Xiu asked.

"I wonder if Elder Zhong and Senior Shi have ever heard of the legend of the Demon race's secret storehouse," Manager Ge said.

"The Demon race's secret storehouse?" Zhong Xiu and Shi Mu exchanged a glance as they heard these words. Then, they directed their line of sight towards Manager Ge. It was apparent that they never heard of it.

"The war between the Barbarian race and the Demon race had erupted thousands of years ago. Ever since then, a fable has been circulating throughout the Western continent. You must have heard that Rising to the Heaven Mountain Peak is situated in the Beautiful Gauze region in the central part of this continent. According to this circulating fable… the secret storehouse of the Demon race is situated somewhere in that mountain Peak. It is said that the white ape Demon King came into being out of nowhere during the period of war between both races. And, this secret storehouse is said to be the inheritance of the White Ape Demon King that he left behind. It is said that the strength of a person would rise exponentially if he obtains this inheritance. In addition, that inheritance also contains the secret of stepping into the World of Immortals," the old man surnamed Ge explained.

"Inheritance… World of Immortals!" Shi Mu was profoundly shocked to hear this. Even Zhong Xiu's facial expression changed.

"Well, the white ape Demon King was almost invincible between both Demon and Barbarian race at that time. Therefore, its inheritance naturally became the object that everyone craves for. The white ape Demon King later disappeared somewhere in the Rising to the Heaven Mountain Peak for no reason. So, some people believed that he ascended to the World of the Immortals. The Demon race has always claimed that this is a groundless assumption. However, the three big demon tribes have been guarding the Rising to the Heaven Mountain Peak ever since then. Also, they revere this mountain peak as their holy land. This indicates that they are apparently concealing something. A series of wars broke out between the Demon and the Barbarian race because of the secret storehouse of the Demon race. I have even heard that some barbarian powerhouses even sneaked into the Rising to the Heaven Mountain Peak forcefully. But, they eventually returned without accomplishing anything. On the contrary, they had lost a lot of strength after their return. There was no one in the three major demon tribes that could be placed on par with the formidable white ape Demon King. Therefore, this matter gradually subsided," The old man surnamed Ge continued.

"How did this old matter pop up again this time?" Zhong Xiu asked.

"It is said that this matter is somehow related to this Soaring Flame Crystal. According to this rumor… the Soaring Flame Crystal is the key to find the inheritance of the white ape Demon King in the Rising to the Heaven Mountain Peak. In addition, it's also the key to move to the World of the Immortals," Manager Ge replied.

"When did this rumor begin to spread?" Shi Mu asked.

"It started to spread early in the morning today." Manager Ge replied.

"In fact, this rumor seems to have a very good match with the timing of the invitation card sent by the Jade Spirit Pavilion." Zhong Xiu said.

"Perhaps this rumor has been aired either by the Jade Spirit Pavilion or Elder Shi Zhao in an attempt to drum-up support for this Soaring Flame Crystal." Shi Mu said.

"This matter indeed seems somewhat fishy. But, a rumor is a rumor. So, no one can prove that this thing has this ability. But, don't tell me there are still some people who are ready to spend a lot of money to bid and grab this thing without knowing the authenticity of this rumor? By the way, how is the reaction of all parties?" Zhong Xiu pondered a moment before she said.

"It feels strange, but this matter seems to have attracted the attention of lots of big forces." The old man surnamed Ge said.

Zhong Xiu and Shi Mu looked at each other once as they heard his reply. Then, Zhong Xiu nodded and said, "Well, I got it. Elder Ge, you must have had a long, tiring day. You can go now."

Zhong Xiu then closed the door after Manager Ge's departure.

"Miss Xiu, what's wrong?" Shi Mu asked.

"Big Brother Shi, the value of this Soaring Flame Crystal would shoot to the sky if this rumor turns out to be true. Its value might even surpass the total of a few mysterious dark flowers and a star stone," Zhong Xiu let out a soft sigh as she said.

"Miss Xiu, things have not reached the final step, no one can determine the results. So, let's wait and watch." Shi Mu said.

Zhong Xiu nodded.

...

The second day…

The bright sun was shining high up in the sky above the Rising Sun City. There was no cloud in the sky. The sky looked like the surface of a dark-blue mirror. Once glance of the sky was enough to render people a kind of relaxed and pleased feeling.

Today was the official date of the Rising Sun City's Auction.

Therefore, the Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce had done many preparations today. All the shops of the Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce in the Rising Sun City had been decorated with colorful lights and lanterns. In addition, both venues of the auction — the Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion and the Jade Spirit Pavilion – had also been decorated both inside and out with utmost care.

The outward appearance of the two venues didn't seem to change much. But, the prohibition array was arranged everywhere, and its lustrous glory was shooting up to the sky. The sparkling light appeared extremely conspicuous even in the bright daylight. In fact, it could be clearly seen from dozens of miles away.

The old man surnamed Ge stood at the door of the Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion with a few stewards of the pavilion. Crowds of people were pouring in from time to time. It seemed that the venue had become quite popular today.

The large-scale auction hall on the third floor of the Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion had already been packed with people. Also, all big forces had also converged to the venue this time.

Moreover, the private rooms on both sides of the auction hall were also occupied by some honored guests.

Zhong Xiu was in a certain room on the first floor of the Pavilion at this moment. She saw the situation below and her facial expression loosened a bit.

"Don't worry. It seems that we haven't lagged behind the Jade Spirit Pavilion in terms of popularity. So, it's rather hard to guess yet who would turn out victorious today." Shi Mu said; he stood beside Zhong Xiu at the moment.

Zhong Xiu nodded.

Shi Mu swept his gaze over the surrounding people once, and felt the presence a dozen or more strong spiritual aura in the venue. And, each of them was an Earth-ranked powerhouse.

"Big Brother Shi, I'm going out for a little while. There are some honored guests who need me to come and receive them in person," Zhong Xiu said.

"Hmm, you go then." Shi Mu nodded.

Zhong Xiu turned around and walked away.

Some time passed, and the auction finally marked its beginning officially.

The chief auctioneer of the Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion got on the auction stage. He was a middle-aged man named Gu Li. He was clad in a purple robe.

"It's my great pleasure and honor to welcome all of you today. This is also a great honor for our Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion as well as our Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce! There are many noble friends on the scene who have arrived from thousands of miles away to attend this grand event. So, I presume that all of you have been looking forward to its beginning for a long time. So, this Gu won't take your time in further talk. Let's begin." Gu Li didn't say any ceremonious words and got straight to the subject.

Someone had already placed the first item for auction on the stage while Gu Li was speaking. It was a small jade box.

There was a stack of magic charms in the box. They were emanating astonishing magic power waves.

"Presumably, everyone is already aware of the fact that our pavilion has invited an expert Charm magician. Many friends have already experienced the middle and high-ranked magic charms he has drawn. The great master has entrusted our Pavilion a total 100 high-ranked magic charms for this auction. We have divided those magic charms into ten batches, and they will be displayed for sale alternately throughout the auction. This is the first batch," Gu Li announced.

A burst of enthusiastic discussion erupted in the hall at once. Many people's eyes even got suffused with a hint of excitement.

Many people had showed up specifically for these magic charms.

Gu Li's face creased into a smile. He felt that the first item at the auction was going to make its mark at the first shot. Simultaneously, it was going to give a grand opening to this pavilion.

"Ten high-ranked wind-attributes Wind Shadow Charm. The initial price of these magic charms is 20,000 spirit stones. Each subsequent bid price must be higher than at least one-thousand spirit stones!" Gu Li said.

"21,000 spirit stones!"

"25,000!"

"30,000!"

"35,000!"

The sound of bidding continued to spring up again and again. And, the price rose to 50,000 spirit stones in no time.

And, the bidder who made the highest bid so far was the young master of the Hundred Gem Pavilion, Lan Yu. He couldn't snatch away the high-ranked magic charms at the previous auction. So, it seemed as if he had taken this failure to heart.

"60,000!" a slightly muffled voice transmitted from a private room at this moment.

None of the distinguished guests who were seated in the private rooms had made a bid so far. This was the first time someone participated in the auction.

Young Master Lan Yu's complexion sank. But then, he raised his hand.

"65,000!" he said immediately.

"70,000!" A voice spread from that private room once again. That voice was calm, but there wasn't the slightest trace of relented attitude in it.

Lan Yu put down his hand in a slow manner. The bid price had already reached such a high degree that he understood that it wasn't worth continuing to compete for it.

"80,000!" a voice resounded from another private room at this moment.

"100,000!" The person in the private room - who was the first bidder - apparently became impatient and made a significantly higher bid in response.