Chapter 159: Auction “However... ” Gu Xi changed the topic and pointed to the girl in pink. “You’ve got to accompany her to a place and ensure her safety.” By now, the price of the ancient tempering book was at 400,000 superior-grade spirit stones. What Gu Xi said was equivalent to giving away 400,000 or more superior-grade spirit stones! The immensity of the favor was unimaginable! At the same time, the place that Gu Xi referred to was definitely not a good place! “I’m only an early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Why me? This lady’s strength is probably even above mine, right?” Su Zimo asked after pondering for a moment. Gu Xi did not reply and asked instead, “I heard you are good in melee combat?” Su Zimo frowned. There were not many people who knew that he was strong in melee combat – he wondered how Gu Xi got wind of that information. Su Zimo turned his gaze to the girl in pink. Wearing a veil, she smiled through her eyes and he could not read her expression. Hesitating for a moment, Su Zimo nodded. “I’m alright at it.” Gu Xi smiled. “That place is a little special. You’ll know when you get there.” Su Zimo did not agree to it and Gu Xi did not continue, evidently not willing to reveal more. Actually, even if Gu Xi said nothing, Su Zimo had already realized that it was an extremely dangerous trip. 400,000 superior-grade spirit stones was more than enough to buy off the lives of 40 Foundation Establishment Cultivators. After silent consideration, Su Zimo nodded. “Alright, I agree to it!” “Bravo!” Gu Xi clapped gently and praised. Glancing sideways, she transmitted her voice. A maidservant at the side came before Su Zimo with a smile. “Fellow daoist Su, if you wish to raise the price, just let me know. I’ll convey the message for you.” This was a privilege only accorded to the ten rooms at the top. That way, the customer’s voice would not be revealed and would not attract unnecessary trouble. One of the greatest worries in an auction house for cultivators was for their identities to be exposed, attracting the attention of others. A person’s talents would arouse the envy of others – that was the logic behind it. ... Within the inner house, many people were privately discussing the confrontation between Sima Zhi and the disheveled old man. “Ethereal Peak’s really lost their pride now. Despite being mocked so badly by others, they have no way to fight back at all.” “Ha. But, it’s strange as well. Ethereal Peak has always been lacking in terms of weapon and elixir refinement. Why are they suddenly trying to purchase a secret manual on weapon refinement?” The manager was naturally delighted at the two Golden Cores fighting. He smiled and declared loudly, “Fellow daoist Sima from True Fire Sect has raised the bid to 400,000 spirit stones. I wonder if our fellow daoist from Ethereal Peak wishes to raise it further?” “Old man, go ahead and raise it.” Sima Zhi burst out in laughter. “If you raise it to 410,000, I’ll go to 420,000! Let’s see who loses first!” The disheveled old man’s expression turned uglier as he tried to repress the anger in his chest. A moment later, he said slowly, “Sima Zhi, don’t be smug! The road ahead is long!” With that, the disheveled old man flicked his sleeves and left. “410,000!” Suddenly, a crisp sound rang out from the top of the inner house. Everyone looked towards the voice only to see a maidservant standing in front of Room 1 right at the top. Smiling, she was the one who reported the figure. All the seated cultivators were stunned. They were not the only ones; even the manager froze on the spot in confusion. Others may not know about it, but he knew who was in Room 1 today – that was the chief steward of their Sky Treasure Auction House! “Why is that big shot involved as well?” The manager was a little perplexed. Stopping in his tracks, the disheveled old man turned back and looked at Sima Zhi with a mocking gaze. Someone appeared to raise the price right after Sima Zhi made his grand announcement and bragged – it was clear that the other party was at odds with him. Of course, neither Sima Zhi nor the disheveled old man knew who was inside Room 1. After all, the maidservant was only a messenger. The manager froze for a moment before coughing gently. “The customer of Room 1... has raised the bid to 410,000!” Sima Zhi frowned and looked at Room 1 for a long time before saying slowly, “420,000!” The maidservant in front of Room 1 turned slightly and listened for a moment. She turned around and shouted, “430,000!” Sima Zhi looked hesitant. Anyone who could enter the ten rooms above must either be extremely powerful or of high status. Otherwise, they would have to spend a lot of spirit stones. Sima Zhi knew nothing about the other party’s identity, strength or sect. Because of that, he felt a little worried. Crossing his arms, the disheveled old man asked at the side, “Sima Zhi, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you raising the bid anymore?” Suddenly, Sima Zhi laughed and shook his head. “I don’t want it anymore. We have many of such ancient books in True Fire Sect anyways. I only raised the bid just so that you can’t get your hands on it!” “You sure are shameless!” The disheveled old man cursed coldly. Sima Zhi chuckled. “Shameless? I just don’t want to let a pearl be covered in dust. No one in Ethereal Peak can understand an ancient book as such anyways. Haha!” After laughing, Sima Zhi cupped his fists in the direction of Room 1 and said loudly, “Since this fellow daoist has taken a liking to this ancient book, I can only give it up.” The manager wiped away his cold sweat secretly and declared, “Congratulations to the customer in Room 1 for obtaining this ancient book at 430,000.” Right then, the maidservant in front of Room 1 turned away once more. Many cultivators realized that the person inside had more to say. After a moment, the maidservant turned back and said, “Please give that ancient book as a gift for this fellow daoist of Room 77 from Ethereal Peak.” Gift! The entire crowd fell silent. Everyone was stunned and dumbfounded. Sima Zhi was a little confused. The disheveled old man was equally perplexed. He turned back and looked at his room – it was indeed Room 77. Who was this person who had given him such a huge gift? The first reaction of many cultivators was that the customer in Room 1 was joking. However, the manager knew what sort of a person the chief steward of the Sky Treasure Auction House was. Even though she was a woman, she was not someone who would go back on her words and make a joke as such! He wrapped the ancient book immediately and came towards the entrance of Room 77 personally. Under everyone’s gaze, the manager passed the ancient book to the disheveled old man. It was only then that everyone finally realized what was going on and their expressions changed. Sima Zhi’s expression darkened immediately. It did not matter who the other party was – they were clearly pitting themselves against him! However, Sima Zhi could not understand what kind of status the other party had. It was too much for them to give away a gift of more than 400,000 superior-grade spirit stones just like that! “Fellow daoist, what’s the meaning of this? Are you pitting yourself against the True Fire Sect intentionally?” Instantly, Sima Zhi brought out the name of his sect. “Because I like it.” The maidservant shook her head and pretended to be smug. It was a familiar sentence – Sima Zhi had said that to the disheveled old man. Now, it was sent right back to him! Actually, that maidservant was only around 13 years old. She wasn’t tall and looked charmingly naive. With a pair of big, clear eyes, her voice was crisp. The fact that she mimicked Sima Zhi’s tone in saying that sentence was extremely interesting. Instantly, the crowd burst into laughter.