Divine Transcendence

Chapter 287: Puppet hosting

"Lost contact in the Northern Wastes? Could Brother Di Yue elaborate?" Yuan Ming inquired upon hearing this.

"About a year ago, three of our Foundation Establishment disciples' life tokens shattered simultaneously. Our sect dispatched people to investigate immediately. However, the clues we found were complex and tangled, leading us to a relatively clear conclusion: they had all appeared in Xiaohu City. Coincidentally, the Tianxiang Auction was about to convene, so our sect sent a Nascent Soul elder along with us disciples to continue the investigation here," Di Yue explained.

"The disappearance of Foundation Establishment disciples, I doubt it has much to do with Pu Zhengqing. Since you only know they appeared in Xiaohu City, why proceed to investigate in the Northern Wastes?" Yuan Ming thought of Sha Hao subconsciously but immediately dismissed the idea.

"After a thorough investigation, we found that the three disciples only stayed in Xiaohu City for a few days before heading to Zhao Country. Based on other clues we discovered, they most likely ended up in the Northern Wastes. Brother Ha-Gong seems suitable; could you assist us in this matter? Should we succeed, we will surely not treat you poorly," Di Yue said.

"Since your sect has already dispatched a Nascent Soul elder to handle this, why seek the involvement of someone at the Foundation Establishment stage like myself?" Yuan Ming tilted his head, pondering, then asked noncommittally.

"The journey to the Northern Wastes may present many uncertainties. It's better to have a few skilled companions rather than many. Brother Ha-Gong, having defeated Pu Zhengqing, is a rare match among his peers. With your help, it would indeed be like adding wings to a tiger," Di Yue said with delight.

"To be frank, I am currently unable to spare the time, so I'm afraid I can't be of assistance to Brother Di Yue," Yuan Ming pondered for a moment before shaking his head.

Di Yue's face showed disappointment, but her attitude towards Yuan Ming remained unchanged, "No matter, I will have the armor modified for you in the next few days. Please leave a contact method, and I will have someone deliver it to you."

"Then please have it sent to Qingmu Tower, just say it's for Ha-Gong to store temporarily," Yuan Ming nodded, giving a location. With Ha-Gong's identity currently attracting attention, it was better to avoid trouble by not involving Xuanhua Spiritual Incense Shop.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Yuan Ming then turned and left.

Originally, he had thought to ask Huoque Gate, known for their artifact refining, to help craft top-grade magical artifacts. However, firstly, he had already agreed to have Song Huitong introduce him, and secondly, having declined Di Yue's invitation, she had already agreed to optimize his heavy armor, and he did not wish to owe more favors.

After leaving the Huoque Gate booth, Yuan Ming continued to casually stroll around the building.

Soon, a clear chime of a bell suddenly rang out within the building, followed by a resonant voice echoing throughout the high-rise.

"The time has come, the Tianxiang Auction is about to begin. Please take the Spiritual Elevator to the main auction venue," Yuan Ming heard and quickly followed the crowd towards the Spiritual Elevator. Before long, he was transported to a spacious hall.

In the hall, several city lords' personal guards stood at the exit of the Spiritual Elevator, politely requesting invitations from each arriving cultivator.

Yuan Ming handed his invitation to one of the guards, who briefly inspected it before handing Yuan Ming a token, "This bidding token will be used later for making offers. Please keep it safe and remember to return it when you leave."

"Next, please head north and take the Spiritual Elevator there to the venue."

Yuan Ming pocketed the token and, following the guard's directions, boarded another Spiritual Elevator. As it ascended, after an indeterminate amount of time, Yuan Ming suddenly saw specks of starlight before his eyes.

Then, a colossal domed hall suddenly appeared before him. The floor of the hall was uneven, resembling a large bowl with towering sides and a sunken center.

Yuan Ming now stood at the very edge of the hall, the highest point, with a long staircase walkway in front of him leading down to the lowest point at the center of the hall.

There was a platform there, currently empty and devoid of anything.

Along the walkway, intricately carved wooden seats with elaborate patterns were arranged in rows down the steps, each set apart by a distance from the next.

Yuan Ming looked around and casually chose a seat with a good view to sit down.

No sooner had he settled into his seat than he looked up inadvertently and noticed that above the many seats, there were several independent levels.

Not only were there seats, but there were also small tables with fruits, and maids in simple long dresses holding tea, serving those seated above. The treatment was several times better than the seats below.

"Wow, if only one day I could sit up there, that would be great," Yuan Ming heard a voice and turned to see a corpulent cultivator with no visible neck due to his obesity, taking a seat beside him.

The plump cultivator saw Yuan Ming looking and immediately greeted him cheerfully, "I am Wang Chongshan, leader of the Shuangwang Alliance. May I ask how to address Brother...?"

"Ha-Gong," Yuan Ming nodded, returning the greeting.

Wang Chongshan's eyes lit up, "So you're Brother Ha-Gong, I've heard much about you. With your status, you should qualify for a private box seat. Why are you sitting here?"

"This is my first time at the Tianxiang Auction; I didn't know how to access a private box," Yuan Ming admitted.

"Oh, I see. Brother Ha-Gong, have you not yet joined any alliance? The private box seats at the Tianxiang Auction, aside from those reserved for the major sects, are allocated to well-known alliance leaders and Nascent Soul independent cultivators. I had assumed someone of your strength would have already been recruited by an alliance, but it turns out you're still unaffiliated," Wang Chongshan realized.

"I prefer not to be constrained, so I haven't thought about joining any particular power," Yuan Ming replied.

"I must say a few words about that. You seem to have some misconceptions about alliances. Alliances are very different from sects and cultivation families! Although an alliance is a power, it doesn't bind its members. They are only called together for missions, and once a mission is completed and the rewards distributed, members are free to leave. It's very flexible, and you can even join several alliances at once," Wang Chongshan explained.

"If it's so loose, then what's the point of forming an alliance?" Yuan Ming asked.

"Think about it, Brother Ha-Gong. When a group of strangers come together for a mission, there's no coordination, and you have to be wary of someone stabbing you in the back. But it's different with an alliance. The longer it's established, the more familiar the members become with each other. Not only do they work together seamlessly, but the distribution of resources and rewards is also fair. Most importantly, an alliance has a reputation. They won't take a deposit and fail to do the job, so most cultivators and sects go directly to reliable alliances when looking for people to undertake missions. Only tasks with lower rewards or those that don't require many people are posted publicly," Wang Chongshan elaborated.

"There's also the situation where an alliance takes on a mission but doesn't have enough people available at the time. In that case, they'll post the mission and recruit other independent cultivators, but the rewards for these tasks are set by the alliance and are generally lower than what the alliance initially received," Wang Chongshan added.

Although Yuan Ming had a general understanding of this from his time in the Southern Border, having it confirmed by a cultivator from the Central Plains showed that the understanding of alliances was consistent in both regions. He nodded to Wang Chongshan in thanks.

As he conversed with Wang Chongshan, other cultivators also gradually entered the venue, filling the seats. Even the private boxes above had people taking their places. Suddenly, a melodious string music began to play, and the noisy venue gradually quieted down.

Under the watchful eyes of the many cultivators, a young woman in a goose-yellow long dress with fair skin and a beautiful appearance ascended from the center stage of the venue.

Yuan Ming's eyes widened at the sight of the woman, not because of her identity, but because her joints had very obvious seams.

Although she looked lifelike, as if real, everyone present could tell that she was merely a puppet powered by spirit stones.

"Firstly, I'd like to thank all the seniors for attending this Tianxiang Auction. My name is Kui Jiu, and I am the host of this auction. As you can see, I am a spirit stone puppet. With me presiding, there will be no mistakes during the auction process. This is personally guaranteed by City Lord Lu, with no falsehood," Kui Jiu said.

She bowed to the audience, her speech clear and coherent. If not for the seams at her joints, no one would guess that such a vividly alive woman was just a puppet driven by spirit stones.

Kui Jiu continued to introduce the auction rules from the platform.

"This auction will use an anonymous bidding system. If any of you are interested in an item, you can make an offer using the token given to you upon entry. After I receive the message, I will announce the highest bid to everyone. If there are identical offers, I will also make that clear. Without further ado, please look at the first auction item!" As Kui Jiu's voice fell, a stone platform behind her slowly rose.

She took a nanmu box from the platform, covered with a golden turtle goose velvet cloth, opened it, and displayed the jade slip inside to everyone.

"This jade slip contains the core technique 'Crimson Fire Heart Method' of Zhao Country's Fire Yuan Sect. As you may know, Fire Yuan Sect was once considered one of Zhao Country's top sects alongside Wulei Sect."

"Unfortunately, after the sect's ancestor passed away, no one else advanced to the Elemental Infant stage, and they fell from the ranks of top sects. However, the 'Crimson Fire Heart Method,' as the main cultivation technique of the sect's ancestor, retains its value. Moreover, this auction item is the complete 'Crimson Fire Heart Method,' not missing a single word, including the Nascent Soul stage cultivation methods."

"With such a technique, a small sect could be transformed, allowing disciples with spiritual roots to save at least fifty years of detours, saving a great deal of cultivation time and resources. The starting bid is only 20,000 spirit stones. Please feel free to bid!"