Upon entering the auction held under the Lanyue Pavilion, Zhu Bufan and Huo Ling finally understood what extravagance meant, and what splendid carvings and painted rafters were.

The floor of the auction house was akin to crystal, bright and transparent. Gold and jade in glorious splendor could be seen within the floor, clearly the result of the designer's ingenious creativity, pressing carved gold leaf beneath the floor to achieve this effect.

Atop the main pillars supporting the auction house were numerous lifelike bas-reliefs. However, Zhu Bufan discovered that these carvings were not of the Divine Dragon form typically seen throughout the Divine Demon Continent, but rather a kind of peculiar exotic beast.

The luxurious decorations highlighted the noble air of the auction house. The patrons in groups of three or two were all dressed in lavish attire, a striking difference from the commoners Zhu Bufan and Huo Ling saw outside. Indeed, where people gather, hierarchies emerge, and with hierarchies comes luxury.

"Master Gu Yue, it's you! Are you here to participate in the auction this time, Master Gu Yue?" asked a pretty young woman sitting behind a large black glossy stone table at the entrance, smiling and approaching quickly upon sighting Gu Yue. Her originally indifferent expression instantly warmed with enthusiasm, evidently, Gu Yue had quite a reputation at Lanyue Pavilion.

"No, today I'm accompanying friends," Gu Yue responded with a smile to the receptionist's enthusiasm, "He has some items he wishes to auction here at Lanyue Pavilion, so I'm bringing them over."

"Ah! So, that's the case. Then, please wait in the inner hall, and I will notify the Grand Steward." After respectfully ushering the trio into the guest room, the receptionist briskly headed to the back to summon the Grand Steward, her motions skilled and demeanor respectful, showing her good training.

Before long, an elder with slightly greying hair but spirited eyes was led back by the receptionist. Zhu Bufan found it peculiar that the old man had red pupils. After the Grand Steward arrived, the receptionist excused herself and left the guest room.

"Master Gu Yue, I hear you have items to auction? May this old man take a look?" the elder said, smiling upon seeing Gu Yue. Quickly, Gu Yue replied: "Hehe, Grand Steward, there's been a misunderstanding. Actually, it's a friend of mine who wishes to auction his items." After speaking, Gu Yue gestured towards Zhu Bufan.

"Oh? It's a friend of Master Gu Yue who wishes to auction? Hehe, young man, could you let this old man have a look at the item?" After hearing Gu Yue's words, the Grand Steward finally turned to regard Zhu Bufan seriously. Facing the Grand Steward's request, Zhu Bufan did not refuse and directly handed over five Fiery Fire Talismans.

"Hm, the quality is pure, and the refining temperature is just right. Sealing the Spiritual Energy is exquisitely precise; there's practically no loss of Spiritual Energy in the materials. These are indeed high-quality Fiery Fire Talismans. It seems that the refiner's Fire Control Skill is not only skilled but also must not have used ordinary Primordial Qi Flames for the refining process."

The elder merely glanced at the Fiery Fire Talismans briefly before discerning so much detail, even the point about not using ordinary Primordial Qi Flames for refining was picked up, causing Zhu Bufan's heart to skip a beat!

"These five Fiery Fire Talismans should fetch around two hundred Jade Coins if put up for auction together. After all, despite their high quality, they belong to the Low Grade Human Rank Jade Talismans. Thus, they cannot be split and auctioned individually to raise the price," said the elder after placing the Jade Talismans on an ornate table beside him.

"Grand Steward is quite right. However, my friend here is in urgent need of money, so I believe he won't quibble over this amount, right?" Upon hearing the words of the Grand Steward, Gu Yue knew that the Grand Steward wasn't trying to be sly. Two hundred Jade Coins for five Jade Talismans was already the best price offered. As Gu Yue spoke, he also turned to seek Zhu Bufan's consent.

"Indeed, that is the case." Zhu Bufan wasn't entirely clear about the concept of Jade Coins, but he surmised it was a fairly good sum. Seeing Zhu Bufan's prompt agreement, the elder pondered briefly before saying, "Young man, how about this? This old man is willing to offer two hundred and twenty Jade Coins to purchase these five Jade Talismans from you. We won't take them to the auction. After all, Jade Talismans are something our Lanyue Pavilion eagerly seeks to acquire. What do you think?"

"That works for me." After hearing the elderly man, Zhu Bufan barely hesitated before nodding in agreement. He was also quite aware of the elder's offer. Jade Talismans were essentially like hand grenades; their price could not soar much. It was a standard rate, and anyone could use them. Hence, rather than auctioning them off, it made more sense for Lanyue Pavilion to purchase them outright. For a place like Lanyue Pavilion, martial strength was of the utmost importance.

Seeing Zhu Bufan's prompt agreement, the Grand Steward also breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, the price he estimated for the Fiery Fire Talismans was indeed fair. Moreover, for items like Fiery Fire Talismans that were practical but did not enhance the image of the auction house, they were even more inclined to acquire them privately. After all, as Zhu Bufan considered, while Fiery Fire Talismans were not high in rank, they were certainly practical.

"Right, young brother, it's remarkable that you're willing to auction such good jade talismans. Could it be that you are an Artifact Refiner?" After agreeing on the price, the Grand Steward sent someone to fetch the jade coins and also started to probe indirectly. After all, no one would want to part with jade talismans of such quality lightly, and seeing Zhu Bufan putting five up for sale at once naturally raised questions.

"This was given to me by my mentor, only ten jade talismans in total. If it weren't for needing money urgently, I wouldn't be willing to take them out." Zhu Bufan nodded and spoke directly with a calm expression, even the Grand Steward couldn't tell if Zhu Bufan was speaking the truth or not at that moment.

"I see, it seems that you have a great master, young brother." Seeing Zhu Bufan's composed face, the Grand Steward also smiled and nodded in understanding. The Grand Steward had his suspicions about whether the jade talismans were refined by Zhu Bufan himself, but judging both from the Artifact Refining fire control and the flames used, the Grand Steward didn't believe that Zhu Bufan at the Body Tempering Stage had the capability. So, he believed Zhu Bufan's words. Of course, it was when the Grand Steward mentioned the flames used in the refining weren't ordinary Primordial Qi Flames that Gu Yue showed a slight change in expression.

"By the way, since you're here, why don't we all go to the auction today? The items for today's auction are quite good, and I imagine Young Master Gu Yue would be interested too. You, young brother, don't seem to frequent auctions much, so why not also come and see for yourself?"

"That sounds good." After nodding, Zhu Bufan, Huo Ling, and Gu Yue got up and followed the Grand Steward to the auction house.

"I didn't expect you to be not only cruel but also cunning. It seems I made a mistake thinking you were a fool before." Walking on the polished crystal floor, Huo Ling's cool voice reached Zhu Bufan's ears.

"Big sister, when you're out in the world, you can't trust people too easily. You need to be vigilant in both actions and behavior, otherwise, it's easy to dodge the open spear but hard to defend against the hidden arrow. You always need to leave something in reserve, right?" Zhu Bufan replied with a wry smile, speaking softly to Huo Ling.

"Who is your big sister?" Glaring at Zhu Bufan, Huo Ling then said softly, "Just call me Huo Ling from now on."

"Women, truly beyond reason..." Sighing again, Zhu Bufan then fell silent, simply following the Grand Steward and Gu Yue's steps toward the auction house.

Once inside the auction house, Zhu Bufan and Huo Ling found that the auction hadn't started yet, but there were already quite a few people there. They took their seats in the back and Zhu Bufan began observing the opulent Lanyue Pavilion.

"Oh? Isn't that Young Master Gu Yue? How come you have time to come here today? Aren't you always so busy?" At that moment, a somewhat frivolous voice sounded, clearly directed at Gu Yue. Hearing this voice, Zhu Bufan turned back to look at the speaker.

The speaker appeared to be about the same age as Gu Yue, with a handsome face. However, the natural upward slant of his eyes and his hooked nose gave him a somewhat sinister feel, especially with the sardonic tone of his voice and the luxurious purple robe he was wearing, it made him seem all the more so.

"Ha, Brother Lian is being too concerned. Whether I come here or not is none of Brother Lian's business, is it?" Hearing the words of the sinister-faced man, Gu Yue's face, which always carried a light smile, darkened, showing clear animosity between them.

"Hahaha... of course, it's none of my business. The affairs of Young Master Gu Yue are not something we can handle." Seeing Gu Yue's reaction, the sinister Lian Family man let out a loud laugh, then turned his gaze to Zhu Bufan and Huo Ling. Since Huo Ling was sitting inside and her face was veiled, his gaze focused on Zhu Bufan.

"Young Master Gu Yue still likes to make friends with these down-and-out 'heroes,' it seems. We better not disturb Young Master Gu Yue's good mood anymore, hahaha..." Upon seeing Zhu Bufan's ordinary, commoner-like clothing, the man let out a loud laugh and turned to leave, with many people around having noticed the commotion by now.

Seeing Gu Yue's livid face, Zhu Bufan wisely didn't ask what the conflict between the two was. After some time, Gu Yue's complexion returned to normal slightly, and with a gentle close of his eyes, he said, "The person just now is from the Lian Family; his name is Lian Hao. Like us, the Gu Family, the Lian Family also has quite the influence in Heiyan City. We're engaged in the same business, hence they've become our biggest business rivals. Basically, whenever there's an opportunity to strike at the other, neither side will let it pass."

Zhu Bufan understood that Gu Yue hadn't revealed everything, nor was there a need to do so. Zhu Bufan obviously wouldn't naively dig deeper, so he nodded to show his understanding. Then he noticed that the auction was about to start, and people from Lanyue Pavilion had already stepped up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting. The senior auction of Lanyue Pavilion is about to begin."

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