Scourge Messenger

Chapter 423 The auction begins

May 10th, Chang'an City, the Duke of Wu's Mansion.

Chang'an City boasts four great gardens: the Lion Grove Garden of Anguo Temple, the Qinghui Garden of the Imperial Palace, the Canglang Pavilion of the Duke of Jin's Mansion, and the Humble Administrator's Garden of the Duke of Wu's Mansion. Each garden is either grand and ornately decorated, or a tranquil oasis amidst the bustling city, requiring decades of construction and countless sums of money to create. Whether masters or servants, everyone in the Duke of Wu's Mansion enjoys spending their leisure time relaxing in the Humble Administrator's Garden.

But starting five days ago, the Humble Administrator's Garden was completely closed, and no one was allowed to enter. The people in the mansion thought it was going to undergo major renovations, never imagining that the Helan family's shrine had moved in just a wall away, nor that their usual haunts had become the shrine's playground.

"Grandpa, how about I let some prey in?" Helan Shangle said respectfully, "Lions, tigers, deer, foxes, there are quite a few wild animals around Chang'an City."

"If I need you to let my prey in first when I hunt, then I might as well not call myself the Winter Hunting Master, but the Spring Sleeping Master." The Winter Hunting Master drew his longbow and shot an arrow with a whoosh, which landed in the soil of the garden: "Do you think I'm an incompetent old man who needs to be fed?"

"Grandson has no such intention," Helan Shangle quickly said. "Then... shall I find some death row inmates? Grandpa can both add to the fun and uphold justice, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Master Dongshou put down his longbow and looked helplessly at Helan Shangle: "Why don't you plunder the young men and women, beautiful wives and new brides, and military heroes of Chang'an City and send them in to be my targets?"

Helan Shangle didn't speak, but knelt down with his head pressed against the floor. He could hear the impatience and disgust in Dongshou Zhenren's words.

“I have no interest in knowing how you usually treat people, whether you are upright and honest or corrupt. I am not heartless, after all, you are carrying the burden of tens of thousands of people in the Helan family, and you are bound to be tainted by some of the evils of the world.”

“Grandpa, you’re too kind,” Helan Shangle replied in a trembling voice. “Without you, there would be no Helan family today. Shangle’s contribution is insignificant.”

"I can guess what you're thinking. You just feel like I was beaten by that old hag Yaoshi Yue and you're venting your anger, right? If the Beast Prisoners aren't enough, do you have other plans? Like the Demon Messenger or something, I'll make sure I get my fill of killing them."

Helan Shangle kowtowed repeatedly, the white-haired old man's forehead bleeding from the effort: "Grandson deserves to die! Grandson knows he was wrong!"

"Sigh." Master Dongshou sighed, "I can't even live in peace at home."

"Shang Le, I'll teach you one last thing. Do you know why Foundation Establishment True Persons are called True Persons? Because in the eyes of Foundation Establishment Messengers, mortals... aren't even considered human."

"If you've been wronged by me, do you think you can calm down by killing a few cats and dogs or smashing a few vases and inkstones?" Master Dongshou drew his longbow and fired another arrow. "Similarly, if I crush a few ants, will I feel better? Does crushing a bad chess player make the chess player feel good?"

Helan Shangle trembled: "Grandson understands."

“You still don’t understand.” Master Dongshou sighed. “Although you’ve tried your best to please me, you’ve never thought about what kind of person I really am. You don’t even know what I’m shooting… There are two kinds of dog owners in this world: one kind wants to see their dog be affectionate with other cats and dogs; the other kind wants their dog to ferociously tear apart other small animals. You probably think I’m the latter, right?”

"Go out. Don't come to visit again unless it's absolutely necessary. I should be leaving in a few days."

With mixed feelings, Helan Shangle took his leave. Before leaving the Humble Administrator's Garden, he passed by an arrow-shooting area. Recalling the words of the Winter Hunting Immortal, he squatted down to observe carefully and discovered that the Winter Hunting Immortal's wooden arrows had actually hit termites on the ground. This Foundation Establishment Immortal, who could command wind and rain at will, had actually been shooting arrows and eliminating pests in the garden these past few days.

Looking at the Humble Administrator's Garden, strewn with arrows, Helan Shangle gave a bitter smile, knowing that the position of head of the Helan family would most likely fall to another branch in the future. But if none of his sons were up to par, why would he have gone to such lengths just to gain favor with Master Dongshou? It can only be said that every coin has two sides.

Master Dongshou put down his longbow, glanced in the west, and snorted, "That old woman... the older she gets in the martial world, the more timid she becomes."

It only takes a day to travel from Yaoshi Mountain City to Chang'an, and it's almost noon now with no sign of them. Clearly, Master Suolong has rejected his proposal. He not only invited Master Suolong to participate in the auction, but more importantly, he hoped that the two of them could join forces to bid for the guild-building token.

The Helan family, after all, has been passed down from the Great Xuan Dynasty to the present day, and is an ancient family that has gone through five hundred years. He knows far more about ancient secrets than the Yaoshi family, which are barbarians from the northern border.

Although no one in the Helan family had ever joined a gang, according to ancient tradition, all powerful forces that could thrive for thousands of years and remain standing even after occasional declines were related to gangs.

If they could win the guild-building token, the Helan family could unite all Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Zhou Kingdom, unify the Central Plains, and continue the great achievements of the Divine Zhou Great Xuan! Of course, True Man Dongshou didn't care about worldly unification. What he hoped for was to use the guild platform to mobilize all Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Central Plains to conquer secret realms together, accelerate the acquisition of cultivation resources, and thus climb to the fifth or sixth level, or even... seek gold and ascend to immortality!
However, Master Dongshou knew that his financial resources were limited and he needed to find a partner. Although he had had conflicts with Master Suolong in the past, Master Suolong was the best choice in terms of both financial resources and character.

Unfortunately, Master Suolong was already a skeleton in a tomb, and he missed such a good opportunity.

Master Dongshou tallied up his assets. When he fled, he also took most of the Helan family's Foundation Establishment inheritance with him. He had 20,000 True Spirit Jade, and various materials, items, and tokens were worth about 30,000. If all else failed, he could also put his rare and precious tokens, which he had refined over decades, up for auction, and raising 100,000 True Spirit Jade wouldn't be a problem.

With 100,000 True Spirit Jade, you should be able to bid for a guild creation token, right?

Master Dongshou, prepared for a do-or-die battle, proudly produced the black-gold invitation. A sweep of his divine sense immediately connected him to a distant land. Without a word, he clearly sensed two pieces of information:
First, when he enters the Treasure Pavilion, he also maintains his physical senses, and can cut off the connection at any time to return to the real world.
Secondly, apart from a wisp of divine consciousness, he couldn't take anything with him.

"Welcome to Jubaoge".

As the sweet voice rang in his ears, Master Dongshou felt his divine sense pass through a bizarre and colorful passage. When everything stabilized, he found himself in a magnificent golden palace.

The ceiling was a moving mural, in which the sun, moon and stars flowed endlessly, and the earth, wind, water and fire rose and fell countless times. Just looking at it made Master Dongshou feel that many problems he had encountered in his hundred years of arduous cultivation were easily solved, and even the foundation of his Dao was subtly touched.

But when Master Dongshou really wanted to grasp this insight, he couldn't hold onto it no matter what he did; it was like a flower in a mirror or the moon's reflection in water.

"So close... What am I missing from getting the gold? I can't see it, I just can't see it!"

"My second supernatural power... is it wrong? But it seems there's still room for correction... but how?"

"If I had seen this picture sooner, why would I have needed a hundred years of arduous cultivation? So that's how it is!"

"Such a priceless treasure, the Treasure Pavilion is so generous in displaying it. I wonder what its name is?"

"The Great Dao evolves and changes, eras rise and fall; perhaps 'The Great Dao Chronicle' is a good name."

"It encompasses heaven and earth, is perfect and complete, neither too much nor too little. In my opinion, it should be called 'Perfect World'."

"You only focus on this painting, but you haven't thought about its artist. The one who could create this painting must be the legendary Nine-Turn Immortal Venerable. He left this painting to prove that he has traveled farther than any other messenger, unprecedented and unparalleled. It should be named 'The Supreme Being of His Time'!"

Master Dongshou withdrew his gaze and found the hall teeming with people, numbering at least several hundred, if not thousands. Like Master Dongshou, although they retained the outlines of their original forms despite their varying shapes, all of them possessed a flowing mass of warm light, devoid of any features except for their eyes.

Many people were gazing up at the murals on the ceiling, but their conversations revealed that each person had gained a different understanding. Some were completely absorbed, while others were utterly bewildered. However, most seemed to be in the same state as Master Dongshou, at the point of 'possibly understanding something, but unlikely to understand anything.' They gathered in small groups, speaking in different accents, discussing their unimaginable experience with strangers from all over the world, which made Master Dongshou feel an urge to join in.

Although he had long known that there were many Foundation Establishment cultivators in this world, seeing so many Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered together still made Dong Shou Zhenren feel somewhat dazed.

Since becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he has gradually faded from the mortal world and lived in seclusion in a secret realm. This was not only to avoid the Three Calamities, but also because he could not find any sense of belonging outside.

He felt like a wolf walking among people, capable of destroying a town and slaughtering millions at any time if he wanted to, with no one able to restrain him. In fact, there had been such ruthless people in the past, but thanks to the existence of the secret realm, the population could quickly recover if the messenger leaked a little soup out... Therefore, even though he was beaten up by Master Suolong, Master Dongshou didn't hate that old woman much.

There are only a handful of people in the entire Central Plains who have influence. Whether you like it or not, when you encounter troubles or difficulties, or when you want to show off, these are the only people you can think of.

But now, seeing so many Foundation Establishment cultivators, Master Dongshou felt like a wild man from the deep mountains and forests who had suddenly arrived in a big city. He realized that there were so many people in this world, and that he had so many kindred spirits.

Even if he didn't make any money today, just being able to come to the auction and chat would make Master Dongshou feel like he had returned with a full harvest.

Master Dongshou lowered his head and saw a token in his hand. As his divine sense penetrated it, he learned the token's function:
First, it is used for bidding. When bidding, there is no need to shout it out. You can directly enter your bid into the token. However, when bidding, the system will detect the assets of the bidder and will not be able to bid on assets that the bidder does not have.
Secondly, it can be used for listing orders. If he intends to consign his item at an auction, he can now enter the listing order.

Third, it can be used for trading. If you see a good order, you can directly use the token to place the order and complete the transaction, or you can ask the seller to negotiate the price.

Just as Master Dongshou was pondering the token's purpose, he was suddenly bumped aside, and a group of people walked out from behind him, seemingly guests who had just been teleported to the Treasure Pavilion.

"Get out of the way."

"Who is so rude!?" Master Dongshou turned around angrily. In all his years of life, this was the first time he had been treated so rudely.

"Under the tutelage of Immortal Lord Qingyun, from the family of Consort Longshi, the Grand Master Canjin, Consort Chengying." The palace-dressed woman who had pushed him away stared straight at him, her murderous intent overwhelming the divine sense of Master Dongshou.
"do you have any opinion?"

(End of this chapter)