As he entered, a large hall came into view. Massive braziers surrounded each of the sixteen marble columns which lit up most of the hall and blanketed everything in a warm glow.
A vermilion rug ran from the platform towards the doors and was matched by smaller ones on either side of the hall while winged banners with adorned margins met the walls. Between each banner hung a small chandelier, a few of them were lit and in turn illuminated the platform.
The curtains were adorned with embellished borders and burnished corners.
At a glance, there were a few hundreds of chairs and tables placed in a well-arranged manner inside the hall. Most of the seats had been filled up by people.
However, when they saw Damien entering, some let out gasps while others were whispering to each other. They didn't expect the recently illustrious alchemist to come in without a disguise.
Even though he already had a disguise to cover his face, his reputation and name might receive a blow. They thought that he wouldn't mind having such a reputation.
Most of them were in disguises and had fake identities. In fact, it was normal for them to wear masks and fake names in these kinds of places.
Soon silence filled the entire hall. Damien noticed that there were less than two hundred people inside. There weren't many. Most of them had used ethereal energy to disguise their face while others simply put on masks. But every one of them was carrying an air of arrogance or nobility.
Damien knew that every single person here must be in the higher echelons and no one here was ordinary.
He noticed that there were also many youngsters, probably young masters of some affluent families.
He randomly chose a seat, sat down, and casually spread his spiritual perception. After scanning around once, he was surprised that no experts were spying on this trade fair at all. The revelation made him a bit more confident.
While everyone was waiting in silence, a secret door above the stone platform at the far end of the hall opened to reveal two people walking out one after another. The pair was a man in his middle age and a woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties.
The man had a slightly stiff expression and was clad in dark brown robes. The woman had a pretty countenance and a well-developed body. Her style of entrance was beautiful and graceful and her black dress only increased her charms.
The arrival of the beautiful girl caused the atmosphere inside the hall to change instantly.
Immediately upon their entrance, many wanton gazes roamed up and down her body.
"What a pleasant surprise! Miss Di, I never thought that this auction would be graced by your presence hahaha." A young man sitting in the middle row laughed brashly.
"Yes, when I received the invitation letter, I didn't think we would be graced with your beautiful presence. I hope this time's auction will be as surprising as the one 2 years ago." Another man in his thirties sitting at the foremost row chimed in.
Miss Di gave a melodious giggle as she said, "Of course, this is the Dark Sky Guild. How can we dare to disappoint our noble and important guests without good surprises?"
While Damien paid attention to the woman's words, his attention was also on the man standing behind the woman. After all, that man was one of the faces he clearly remembered after coming to this world on the first day itself. Though it was the woman who was leading the show instead of him.
'Elder Faust...I can't thank you enough for being here.' Damien sneered inwardly.
"Alright, everyone please enjoy the auction as it is officially going to begin now. My name is Mary Di and this servant shall be your host for today. The rules will be the same as always."
*Clap! Clap!*
Mary Di clapped her hands softly before a maid walked in rolling a cart carrying a wooden box.
Mary Di gently opened the wooden box and boundless sword energy spilled out of the box.
"Wow...that is a great sword!" Immediately some people cried out in shock. Even the families who practiced sword mastery were already on their feet.
Mary Di said with a sweet smile, "You must all know that the best swords come from the Lancaster Empire, right?"
"Of course. The best swords in the world come from the Lancaster Empire. No one would dare to claim that they can best them in sword forging." A person sitting in the foremost row cried out in affirmation.
"That is exactly right. But the most wonderful fact is that this sword was forged by the great Sword King 300 years ago. This sword had been passed down from one hand to another down the centuries. And finally, it ended up in our hands. This sword nicknamed the 'Willbreaker' is rumored to break the will of your enemies, rendering them unable to fight. Of course, it mainly depends on one's sword mastery. I am sure you must have all sensed how powerful this sword is." Mary Di said leisurely with a smile.
"Exactly, this sword is an absolute gem. Please give us a price already, Miss Di." A young man clad in red robes shouted out, his eyes blazing with excitement.
Mary Di said with a blooming smile, "Of course, since this sword is a genuine Sky Ethereal Grade weapon, the asking price is only 750,000 Yellow Spirit Stones."
Damien wasn't surprised hearing the price as he knew how costly a Sky Ethereal Grade weapon was. However, he was impressed with the quality and aura of the sword. His eyes glinted but he didn't raise any price. After all, he didn't have enough assets yet and he wasn't here to buy a sword anyway.
"760,000 Yellow Spirit Stones! A majestic sword like that should obviously fall into my hands." A man yelled out.
"780,000!!!" Another man shouted out.
"800,000! That sword is only worthy to be in hands, hmph!"
After a few fierce calls and shouts, the sword finally ended up in the hands of an old man for a staggering price of 900,000 Yellow Spirit Stones!
"The next item…" Mary Di put on a mysterious smile as she continued, "is a never before seen 'item' and way more interesting despite the looks.'
She clapped her hands again after she said this.
Elder Faust behind her simply motioned his fingers and didn't say anything nor make any other movements. People even forgot about his presence as he was heavily overshadowed by Mary Di's charm.
*Rrrrnn*
In front of Mary Di, a square-shaped opening appeared on the platform. It suddenly rose upwards, revealing a grey cage. But what caught the attention of the people in the hall was the little girl inside it.
"Tch, who is that ugly girl?"
"Miss Di, is this supposed to be some kind of joke? We are not here to buy or look at disgusting things."
"Sure, her hair is eye-catching but what kind of a face is that? Can anyone live with that kind of face?"
"Miss Di, we don't have time to look at defective products. Please show us something useful."
Damien's fist was violently trembling as his eyes blazed with fury, not only because of the derogatory comments he was hearing about the girl inside the cage but because of her pitiful condition as well.
Her face looked pale with a wan complexion. Her ruby red eyes didn't have that glittering sheen as always and looked dull.
'Ethereal Seal? These bastards!' Damien bellowed inwardly as he sensed an ethereal seal placed on her soul.
Damien now was aware of what an Ethereal Seal was. He knew it was a bit similar to the slave seal in the sense that once someone places an ethereal seal on another person, their cultivation would get sealed and would have to obey their orders unless they want their soul to be tormented with pain.
One could resist an ethereal seal placed on their soul but would have to pay a huge price in return along with immense pain to their soul. There might even be a chance of dying.
But if the ethereal seal was forced on another person, the seal would lose effects in a certain period of time and they would have to re-enforce the seal on them again.
If one accepts an ethereal seal willingly, it would stay indefinitely and lessen the chance that a person would be able to resist the seal.
But Damien immediately realized that Valentina's condition was the result of her resisting the ethereal seal. He clenched his teeth thinking how much pain a little girl like her had to suffer on her soul.
Mary Di said, "This little girl is not simple as one can see. Despite her scary face, her ethereal cultivation is at the Low-Level Spirit Ethereal Realm and her soul cultivation is at the Early Soul Transformation Stage. At such a young age, her cultivation is above even the most prominent prodigies of her age. Who is to say she cannot grow up into a powerhouse? Who wouldn't want such a monstrous girl as your servant? The bidding for this exotic product starts at 1 Blue Spirit Stone or 1,000,000 Yellow Spirit Stones!"
"This can't be real...how can such a young girl have such high cultivation? I want her but the price is too steep for a humble one like me. But I wonder from where they fished up this foreign product from."
"I know right...and look at her strange hair and eyes. But those scars give me the creeps. I am gonna sit this one out."
"Hmph, why don't you just say you don't have the money. I can't lose on getting such a servant with huge potential. I am buying her ugly or not, 1,050,000 Yellow Spirit Stones!"
"1,100,000!! I am going to discipline her real good and toy with her hehe. Such a delicate thing can't grow up without my gentle care after all, jejeje." A middle aged man with a beard laughed sadistically.
Damien noted the people who were calling out their price and making biting remarks about his precious Valentina. She wasn't even looking around or at the people trying to buy her. She was simply staring lifelessly at the cold floor.
*Crack*
The armrest on his seat cracked under his arm as rage seethed inside his nerves.
He stood up and raised his hand. Mary Di's expression changed seeing Damien get up and so did everyone's.
They all wondered why Damien simply stood up instead of bidding from his seat.
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