Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 178 The Third "Crown Fragment"! (3k2)

When the "Night Witch" Niafu made this announcement, it meant that the "Antique Auction" would officially enter the second stage.

The guests will begin "free trading", and the "behind-the-scenes notary" of the Black Sword Mansion will witness the birth of every transaction through the "Eye of the Black Beast".

Swish, swish. When Niafu lifted her skirt again and bowed slightly to the guests below the stage, many guests stood up almost at the same time and walked towards the seats of other guests.

Many of the guests who did not stand up immediately took out the treasures they had prepared long ago from their various "storage" props, and placed them on the table, waiting for another lucky buyer to come.

In front of all the guests' seats, the "Eye of the Black Beast" placed on a wooden tray suddenly emitted a faint grayish-white mist. A tiny crack appeared in the middle of it, and a red light burst out from the crack, revealing a deep gaze.

That is the breath of the "Notary". The "Black Beast" is everywhere. It will see through the inner ripples of both parties of the transaction and punish those who are lucky enough to take chances.

Luo Xiu stood up from his seat as the guests stood up and walked towards other seats.

He didn't plan to sell anything to other customers - he hadn't made any plans in advance. However, if there was a chance in the future, he might consider making some money here.

While thinking, Luo Xiu followed the other guests and came to the seat of the first "seller" guest.

On the semicircular table in front of the seats, there were many equipments ranging from "rare" to "master" quality. Luo Xiu took a quick look, then looked at the guest who was sitting calmly in the seat.

The man's skin was a dark bronze, and when the dim light in the auditorium shone on him, it actually reflected pieces of metallic luster.

He was wearing a mask, so his true appearance could not be seen, but the rough, totem-like tattoos on his exposed skin and the three-stranded brown braids made Luo Xiu's first impression of him as a "blacksmith" from a border clan.

When he noticed someone stopped in front of his seat, the "Tribal Forger" raised his head, glanced at Luo Xiu and Index behind him, and said in a rough voice:
"These are all good equipment, my friend, you can take a look at them and tell me which one you like, and I will give you a suitable price."

This blacksmith from the tribe looks very simple... Luo Xiu thought so, but did not respond to him immediately. He just opened the panel and performed a panel detection on those "rare" and "master" quality equipment.

By now, Luo Xiu himself no longer had much need for regular, "master" or lower-level equipment. However, he still needed to consider buying some practical equipment for the shadows in the "Holy Abyss".

When in Sina City, only the dwarf Mil sold good and cost-effective equipment, but it could not meet all the needs of the "Holy Abyss", and Luo Xiu could not reveal the existence of the "Holy Abyss" to him.

Moreover, Mir was now more often Luo Xiu's "royal blacksmith", and he did not have the extra energy to forge new equipment. Therefore, purchasing a few new equipment at this antique auction was also one of Luo Xiu's original plans.

After quickly browsing the properties of several pieces of equipment, Luo Xiu closed the panel, pointed to two "Master" and three "Rare" pieces of equipment and said, "Friend, tell me their prices."

"You have a good eye." The tribal forger raised his eyebrows and said:

"'Blackthorn Blood Whip' is four hundred gold coins; 'Mithril Hunting Blade' is three hundred gold coins; and the 'Emerald Staff', 'Bloodthirsty Scimitar', and 'Silk Manipulating Puppet', well, these items are one hundred gold coins each."

"Okay." Luo Xiu nodded, took out ten platinum coins from the bracelet and handed them to the blacksmith, then picked up the five pieces of equipment from the table and stored them in the storage bracelet.

"A generous friend." The forger grinned, revealing a kind, yet somewhat scary smile. "May your totem protect you."

Luo Xiu didn't respond to him anymore. After completing the first transaction, he walked towards the next "seller's" seat.

……

About twenty minutes passed.

Luo Xiu bought more than ten pieces of "master" or "rare" quality equipment from four "sellers". He roughly calculated that these equipment could completely replace the equipment of Index, "Hunting Blade" Undertaker, and "Bloodthirsty Werewolf" Boozer, and also improve the abilities of the twin sisters and "Dream Stealer" Pior.

At the same time, Luo Xiu received a master-quality "Dragon Brilliant Cast Stone", also known as the "Upgrade Stone", from a "seller". This could be used to upgrade Luo Xiu's own "Moon-Cutting Scythe" to the master level, allowing this handy dual-purpose weapon to match his current strength.

In addition, after purchasing some consumables in the extraordinary field, Luo Xiu prepared to return to his seat and wait for the "Antique Auction" to end.

There were quite a few "sellers" who displayed equipment of "epic" quality, or "saint"-level skills or skill scrolls, but that was not what Luo Xiu wanted at the moment, so he did not invest extra money in it.

This time, there didn't seem to be anything particularly "taboo" in the free trading section of the auction, and the auction was relatively restrained and mild at this stage.

Luo Xiu was thinking this, and just as he was walking through the crowd from the right side of the Black Sword Auditorium to his seat on the left, he suddenly felt an ancient, vague call that seemed like a resonance.

Beside Luo Xiu, a hunched figure hidden under a white cloak passed by him.

Luo Xiu felt something in his heart, so he turned around and saw the hunched figure sitting back in the seat in the corner.

Although he was wearing a mask, Luo Xiu could roughly tell from his body shape and skin age that he was an old man, and an extremely old man. The skin exposed on his body was basically all dead skin, and the smell he exuded was also uncomfortable, it was a mixture of aging, stench, and corruption.

The old man sat back in his seat, holding in his skinny hand a necromancy staff emitting a pitch-black aura, which he had just obtained from another "seller".

He caressed the necromancer's staff lovingly, murmuring like a dream:
"Ah... with this... the Priory will be able to... enter more seals..."

"..."

...The Priory? Luo Xiu chewed on this word, feeling strangely familiar.

Suddenly, the name of another hidden organization flashed through his mind.

——"The Ancient Hermitage"!
This was exactly the pagan organization that Luo Xiu, Captain Anthony of the "Holy Judge", Connor, and Pamier had judged when they were in Red Maple City.

That old man... is he from the "Ancient Hermitage"? Combined with the vague words "enter the seal" in the old man's murmur, Luo Xiu became more certain of his guess.

The quality and inherent skills of the necromancer's staff in the old man's hand could not be seen, but it looked like something of 'epic' quality... While Luo Xiu was thinking, he walked towards the old man's seat.

Luo Xiu developed some new interest in the old man. Anyway, everyone was hiding their identities now, and they were also protected by the Black Sword Mansion. Even if the old man was really a member of the "Ancient Hermitage", or even the "High Priest" of the fourth destiny or the "Leader" of the fifth destiny, he couldn't do anything to him.

Walking to a position where he could observe the old man, Luo Xiu stopped in front of another seat and pretended to pick out treasures from other sellers while secretly observing the old man's movements.

Luo Xiu saw that the old man rubbed the necromancer staff in his hand for a while, then he raised his right hand and drew a line in the air in front of him.

The air suddenly twisted, sending out chaotic ripples all around, and then a deep, ominous, dark crack opened up.

——Dimensional rift!
Luo Xiu immediately understood that the old man should be at the fifth level of the [Lost] Fate Path. If he was really a member of the "Ancient Hermitage", he should be a leader-level figure.

The old man placed the necromancy staff in his hand into the dimensional rift, then stretched out his finger and gently stroked it, and the rift was sutured back.

The air returned to its original calm, as if nothing had happened.

Then, the old man took something out of his arms and placed them one by one on the table in front of him.

After doing all this, the old man closed his eyes and restrained all his spiritual surges. His presence suddenly became extremely weak.

If Luo Xiu hadn't noticed the old man long ago, he would probably have thought that there was nothing special in that inconspicuous seat in the corner...

As Luo Xiu thought this, he kept his eyes on the old man, and at the same time, he turned sideways and moved through the crowd, approaching the old man's seat.

Just as the old man took out something and placed them on the table, Luo Xiu could feel that the ancient, vague, resonant calling was becoming stronger and stronger, and it was coming from the direction of the old man.

Just as Luo Xiu squeezed through the crowd and came to the old man's seat, he finally saw clearly what the old man had placed on the table.

They were fragments of various shapes, some were carved from spirit wood, some were inlaid with crystal stones, and some were cast from gold and iron.

But no matter what manufacturing method is used, they all have one common feature - the aura they emit is quite ancient. They should come from different ruins or seals, and the history of those ruins or seals is undoubtedly quite long.

Luo Xiu quickly made this judgment.

His pupils shrank at the same time.

Because he saw something that was extremely familiar to him.

Among the pile of fragments, Luo Xiu saw a fragment that looked like a crown.

It was a piece of ancient crown fragment, but after countless years, it had not been rusted at all. Its surface was engraved with exquisite patterns and there were many hollows that could be inlaid with gems, but those gems had long been lost.

And Luo Zheng just happened to know the name of this piece of crown fragment.

——"Fragment of King Isol's Crown"!
And that was exactly the source of the ancient and vague calling that seemed to resonate with him.

……

(There will be another chapter tonight)
(End of this chapter)