Chapter 69: Side Story: Gentle Lotus
Chen Wentian breathed a sigh as he finally arrived within the immortal underground city. It had been a long week of travel. Even though he was now at the peak of the Spirit Initiate Realm, he couldn't fly like immortals and had to travel by horse or by foot. It was fortunate he was still on time for the auction.
This particular immortal underground city was the home of a Spirit Lord who specialized in trade and business. That man would buy items wholesale from adventurers and then auction them off at many times the original price. The auction was still very popular as many rare items and resources had only demand and no supply. It was a great way to make money off of other immortals and high level mortal cultivators.
Auctions were an important method Chen Wentian used to increase his cultivation as well as his wealth. He had a special knack for sensing items that had a remnant soul, which made it extremely valuable and useful to him. He had scored twice previously at different auctions and he was hoping to test his luck at this place.
His habit since young was to always be low-key and he was very careful during these events. Incidents of cultivators being robbed and murdered for their auction winnings were as common as trees in a forest. In order to remain anonymous, he hid his tracks by renting rooms in multiple inns and disguised himself by dyeing his hair and wearing a very convincing fake beard. Finally ready, he stepped into the auction hall and headed for the first floor, which held items for Spirit Initiate Realm cultivators.
Chen Wentian walked around the hall, staring at the various items on display behind glass cases. There were other Spirit Initiate Realm cultivators around him as well, many at the 10th Level like him. Immortals rarely visited the first floor and mostly stayed on the second floor or above as there were much more valuable items there.
Weapons and armor were prized and hotly contested in every auction. Even a medium tier Spirit Initiate one would end up costing more than ten thousand taels of gold. He didn't fight for them as that would be almost his entire cash stack and he didn't need such weapons anyway. He looked disinterestedly at a bunch of cultivators as they fiercely bid for a wicked looking saber. There were still a few hours till the end of the auction yet the price was already more than fifteen thousand gold!
Chen Wentian shook his head and kept looking. He eventually found his way to the minerals and gems section and felt a pull on his soul... There was something!
He kept a poker face as he meandered towards the source. He stood in front of the item he wanted and looked down to find a large stone. The display plaque described this as a five kilogram piece of purple jade, useful for runes and inscriptions. A skilled master could turn this into a valuable treasure but in its raw state, it was not worth much. There were no bids and the starting price was just one thousand taels of gold.
Chen Wentian felt quite excited inside. The signal from the soul within the purple jade was strong, indicating it was not so simple. The immortal auction owner obviously couldn't sense what was inside and neither could any other immortal here. A higher realm immortal may be able to if they specialized in some Dao related to the soul. Chen Wentian was a special case as his secret soul art was unrivaled under the heavens.
He flagged down an attendant and placed the starting bid of a thousand gold. He then patiently waited, like a fisherman waiting for a bite on his line.There were some people interested in the purple jade but they walked away after Chen Wentian raised the bid even higher to almost two thousand.
The auction was coming to a close and Chen Wentian eagerly awaited his newfound treasure. There was only a few minutes left when he saw the one thing he hoped not to. The price jump again... two thousand five hundred? Was there an insane person in the house? He looked around but didn't see anybody. He quickly bid again for two thousand six hundred. He hoped the random idiot would leave but almost fell over when the price jumped again to five thousand. Somebody was messing with him!
As he rebid once more to five thousand one hundred, he suddenly felt the entire room and the people around him dissolve into a haze of nothingness. His mind seemed to spin as he felt a pulling sensation. When he opened his eyes, he saw a completely new world. It was a paradise of waterfalls, lush green forest, blossoming flowers, and singing birds. He felt nothing was wrong with his body or mind and he curiously walked forward through this illusory world. He headed towards the pool below the babbling waterfall where there were many pink and white lotus flowers in full bloom.
As he walked up to the edge of the pool, the water splashed and a figure emerged. It was a woman! Her features were angelic and soft, with warm brown eyes, delicate skin, and plump rosy lips. He was captivated as she walked towards shore. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts, as large as melons, bounced with each step, shaking off pearls of water that glittered in the sunlight. His sucked in his breath. His v.i.r.g.i.n mind was going crazy as he imagined doing things with those perfectly pink and erect n.i.p.p.l.es.
As she got closer and got out of the water, he was rewarded with teasing glances of her secret garden. A sparse bit of black hair, that heart-stopping gap of daylight between her thighs, He strained his eyes trying to see. He wanted to see!
Before Chen Wentien knew it, the woman was in front of him. She was almost as tall as him as she stared at him with a mysterious smile.
"Who are... mmmmmmm!" Chen Wentian opened his mouth to say something but found it had been occupied.
He was being kissed? What is this, her tongue? He didn't know a person's tongue could do things like that. He didn't realize how arousing and pleasurable licking and sucking on woman's tongue was until now. His brain seemed to shut down as the fantastic sensations washed away his surprise. The woman sn.a.k.e.d her arms around him as she plastered her body to his. He felt the soft globes squish against his chest. He was sure she felt his hardness against her as well.
She finally broke the kiss and stared into his eyes enchantingly, "You're so handsome... and a great kisser!"
"Yeah?" Chen Wentian replied dumbly.
"Yeah..." Her whispering breath was like a song, "You're so strong!"
"I am!" Chen Wentian felt a swell of pride.
"How did you get so strong? I really, really like you. If you tell me..." She leaned forward and kissed his lips again. "Then I'll be yours..."
Chen Wentian awoke from his trance suddenly. He felt an intrusion, a compelling force that tried to influence his mind and soul. His soul screamed out in alarm when his mind was being enchanted by the n.a.k.e.d woman and he was able to break free.
He hurriedly pushed the woman away from him, his erection deflating in a split second. The n.a.k.e.d beauty looked disappointed. As he blinked his eyes her illusion began to dissipate. Her nubile body shimmered and disappeared and was replaced by an elderly looking woman who, thankfully, was clothed. He could see a resemblance with the n.a.k.e.d woman who seemed like a younger version of her.
"Who are you?" Chen Wentian asked, his soul power activated and fully alert.
"Hehe, you don't need to know yet. You're quite talented for your age, aren't you? Please excuse my overly curious mind. I just wanted another good man, too bad your soul too strong and unruly."
Chen Wentian didn't reply as he fought to dispel the illusion that still surrounding him.
"Don't worry, I won't bite! I just wanted to play with you a little. Have fun with your purple jade, hehehe!" With that, she disappeared from view and the entire illusory world shattered as well.
He found himself back in the auction hall. He looked around but couldn't see anyone that resembled the elderly lady. She didn't show herself again and he won the auction without any other issues. He was a bit spooked by the encounter but he didn't feel any malicious intent from her so she couldn't be too bad. Well... if he had fallen under her trance, it would have been bad. He might have become her soul slave forever. But in the end, none of his secrets were revealed.
---
Later, when he was far away from any prying eyes, he took out the large block of purple jade and began to work on it. He chipped away the outer layers of jade bit by bit. The soul signal got strong and stronger as he removed layers of jade. After a while, he finally sensed what was inside, a Purple Jade Hercules Beetle! A supreme treasure!
His hands shook as he gently laid the jade encased beetle down. Purple Jade Hercules Beetle were small but extremely powerful. The small beetle the size of his hand could lift rocks as big as houses. The sharp horns could pierce or cut through steel like it was tofu. Judging from remnant soul, it was at the peak of Spirit Initiate Realm when it was still alive.
If people knew about what was inside the purple jade, it would have sold for at least a hundred thousand gold. Chen Wentian thanked the luck god once again as he added yet another treasure to his growing collection.