Genshin Impact: I, the Winter Prince, reign supreme.

Su Yu's mastery of wind element is almost on par with Barbatos. The fragments of the Lonely King in the Tower are just useless to him, but they still hold great appeal for many ordinary people present.

The gods gilded the outlines of desire with seven radiances, thus proclaiming that their authority is attainable—

Since the dawn of humanity, the pursuit of the seven elemental forces has been an unyielding goal for mortals.

"510 million Mora!"

"550 million Mora!"

"600 million Mora!"

Wealthy merchants and powerful figures from all over the world began vying for fragments of the Gale Demon God, hoping to obtain the demon god's power and enhance their own strength.

Moreover, in recent years, rumors have been circulating in Teyvat that the power of the demon gods can extend the lifespan of mortals. As a result, humans have begun to frantically pursue the power of the demon gods. However, excessive absorption of the power of the demon gods will cause the human body to be unable to withstand that power and to go astray.

In the Kingdom of Winter alone, there have been many tragedies caused by the overuse of the power of the demon gods.

Humanity's ambitions are amplified to an infinite degree in the pursuit of power and longevity.

Seeing Su Yu gazing at the auction items, Morax said, "This is a hateful yet pitiful tyrant who built a ring-shaped city to protect his people. However, the people knelt before the lonely king atop the tower not out of worship, but because they were too weak to lift their heads due to the violent winds. When the rebellion began, his dream was shattered..."

Morax told Su Yu some of that hidden history.

To outsiders, it sounded like he was very knowledgeable, but to Su Yu, these were just his memories.

After Zhongli finished recounting that history, the fragment of the Lone King in the Tower was sold for 820 million Mora to a wealthy local tycoon from Liyue.

Ji Fang and her staff unfolded a large mural and smiled, saying, "The third item for auction is a rubbing of a mural. The original mural is located in southern Inazuma. I believe many of you here have heard of that place, which is called Tsurukan and dates back to about 2600 years ago."

"The ancient civilization of Heguan remains shrouded in mystery. Rubbings of the murals may hold the secrets of that ancient civilization. Whoever can decipher the murals may find the truth behind the destruction of the Heguan civilization."

"Starting bid: 100 million Mora!"

The proprietress, Ji Fang, was quite eloquent, and after this promotion, everyone's enthusiasm for bidding was reignited.

He Guan is located on an island shrouded in mist year-round, making it difficult for ordinary people to enter. The rubbings of the murals can indeed provide a feast for the eyes of those who are curious.

As for the truth behind the destruction of the He Guan civilization, even the Ice Queen was vague about it, but Su Yu had already gleaned some of the history from the murals.

The Heguan civilization, which worshipped the "Three Moon Goddesses," possessed the knowledge and technology of an even earlier, ancient civilization. As a result, they were punished by Sky Island, which sent down the Cold Sky Nails.

The Nail of Frost affected the earth's veins, leading to its destruction, just like the fate of the ancient snow mountain kingdom of Fendnir.

This may not be the complete truth, but for Su Yu, the research value of the He Guan civilization is not very high; there are many other things worth his energy and effort.

"Mr. Su Yu, please be sure to take pictures of these murals for me."

However, at this moment, Zhongli, who was standing nearby, asked for help.

However, you ask for a favor without mentioning Mora, which shows you're used to being a benefactor.

Seeing that Su Yu did not give a direct answer, Zhong Li explained, "These people know that I am knowledgeable and experienced. If I make a bid, it will only prove that these things are treasures, priceless, and the competition will be even fiercer. Don't worry about the Mora issue. My reputation in Liyue is well-known. Once I have raised enough, I will repay you."

“I’m not worried about Mora. Zhongli, tell me the truth, did you come to the auction for these murals? Of course, you can keep it a secret, as you said, everyone has secrets.”

“I may tell you, for that is indeed why I came. People always want to cut through the fog of time and find the truth behind it, but some wisdom and knowledge are dangerous bait, traps carefully set by hunters. I am also full of curiosity about those truths and knowledge, but I know the price of obtaining the truth... and Liyue cannot bear those prices.”

Morax was speaking in riddles, but Su Yu could roughly guess that the destruction of the He Guan civilization involved the Sky Isles, and Morax wanted to protect Liyue, so he didn't want the people of Liyue to get involved.

However, the contracts for commercial transactions in Liyue were laws he personally established, and he could not use force to rob them openly, nor could he steal them, which was incompatible with his status.

So how can we abide by commercial contracts without letting dangerous murals fall into the hands of others?

The answer is to buy it yourself.

Su Yu even wondered if Morax was penniless not because he hadn't gotten used to the life of an ordinary person, but because he had spent all his money on auctions.

Perhaps his suggestion to Ji Fang to run this auction was also to allow sellers of dangerous goods to openly sell their items at the auction, making it easier for him to sell them.

As the two were talking, the price of the murals in He Guan rose to 350 million Mora.

"500 million Mora!"

When Su Yu announced the price, no one else competed with him. Instead, some boos were heard, probably because they all thought the young man was a sucker and that it wasn't worth buying it for 500 million Mora.

But if they had noticed Zhongli's beaming smile, they probably wouldn't have been so naive.

"This auction features eight items. The fourth item will be auctioned: a unique magical beast from Inazuma, the Deep Sea Dragon Lizard!"

Ji Fang announced.

"When our adventurers from Liyue went to Haiqi Island on a mission, they unexpectedly discovered the Abyss Mission. They had captured a deep-sea dragon lizard from somewhere."

"The warriors of Liyue drove away the forces of the Abyss Mission and brought the Deepsea Lizard back to Liyue Harbor. In the oldest myths and legends, the Deepsea Lizard may be a descendant of dragons, containing a trace of dragon blood within its body."

"Since this deep-sea lizard died during transport, it is now just a carcass, but its research value is still very high. The starting bid is 100 million Mora!"

Chapter 59 The Auction (Part Two)

"A deep-sea dragon lizard, huh? Interesting..."

The deep-sea dragon lizard comes from Haiqi Island, or more precisely, from the Abyss Palace on Haiqi Island, a secret realm also known as the White Night Kingdom.

The history of the White Night Kingdom predates the War of the Demon Gods.

The great serpent demon god Orobas hid in the Abyss Palace to escape the carnage of the demon war.

When Su Yu left Inazuma last time, he was in a hurry and didn't have time to explore the Abyss Palace. In fact, the biggest secret there was the forbidden book "The Past of the Sun and Moon," which recorded the history of the war between the first and second thrones of Sky Island.

In the beginning, the continent of Teyvat was ruled by seven dragon kings, each of whom controlled one element.

The first throne that came from beyond the world, the primordial god Phanes, defeated the seven elemental dragon kings, and then created humans and animals, as well as mountains, rivers, flowers, and trees.

Phanes's contribution to the continent of Teyvat is equivalent to Nuwa creating humans, or Pangu transforming into mountains, rivers, the sun, moon, and stars after his death.

In short, he ushered in a completely new era.

Later, the second throne arrived.

The arrival of the Second Throne in Teyvat was tantamount to a revelation to the ancestors of humankind at that time—

Gods are neither eternal nor unique!

This directly shook the foundation of theocracy, weakened humanity's faith in the gods, and led humanity to begin to doubt the absurd, sacred, and immutable world rules established by the First Throne for humanity. As a result, humanity at that time began to be curious about the world outside the continent of Teyvat.

The First Throne and the Second Throne eventually clashed in a brutal war of cataclysmic destruction and life-or-death struggle due to various conflicts, and the Abyss Palace sank underground after that great battle.

According to the author of "The Past of the Sun and Moon," the primordial god Phanes defeated the second throne and was the victor in the war.

However, is this really the case?

A copy of the book "The Story of the Sun and Moon" was found by Barbatos and hidden in the basement of the Mondstadt Library, while the original remains in the Lower Palace, awaiting discovery by the Traveler and Paimon.

As Su Yu had previously speculated, the war's outcome recorded there must be wrong, which is why Sky Isle did not punish Mondstadt or the Abyssal Palace with the Frost Spikes.

The victor in this war was the "aggressor" who seized the second throne!

Phanes was actually dead or imprisoned, and the Isle of Skye was seized by the Second Throne.

The Second Throne continues to rule the continent of Teyvat in the capacity and name of the legitimate creator god of the First Throne.

The current seven-rule system is orchestrated by the Second Throne.

The "murderer" who destroyed Crane View, the ancient snow mountain kingdom of Fendnir, and the ancient kingdom of Kanria with the Nail of Frost, is also the Second Throne.

"The Abyss Order is researching these creatures with ancient bloodlines again. It's really a headache."

While Su Yu was lost in thought, Zhong Li sighed, seemingly having a lot of worries about the Abyss Order.

Su Yu said, "For thousands of years, the Abyss has never given up proving that the throne in the heavens is an outsider, and has never given up seeking revenge against the Crimson Moon Goddess, one of the three goddesses of the moon."

The "Three Moon Goddesses" appearing in the He Guan murals are the Sky Moon Goddess, the Crimson Moon Goddess, and the Abyss Moon Goddess.

"Mr. Su Yu does indeed know a lot of secrets."

“I met a friend in the Abyss Order, and I learned some information from her.”

Su Yu looked at the deep-sea dragon lizard corpse on the display stand again and said, "It's just a bit of a pity that the light energy contained in its body dissipated after death, otherwise it would have been good for research."

"Light Dimension Power?"

Zhongli heard a word that was unfamiliar even to him.

“Zhongli, you’ve heard of the concept of the three realms: the realm of light, the realm of man, and the realm of nothingness, right? The continent of Teyvat has three realms, so there are three types of power: the power of the realm of light, the power of the realm of man, and the power of the realm of nothingness. The power of this deep-sea dragon lizard is the power of the realm of light.”

"The concept of the Three Realms does indeed exist: the Realm of Light, the Realm of Man, and the Realm of Nothingness. However, the power of the Three Realms is a novel concept. Mr. Su Yu, could you please enlighten me?"

When Zhongli asked, Su Yu explained, "The power of the Light Realm refers to the pure, primordial elemental power; the power of the Human Realm refers to the power of human memory and faith; and the power of the Void Realm refers to the power of the Abyss. The powers of the three realms repel each other, yet maintain a dynamic balance."

"I have learned a lot and been greatly inspired."

Zhongli clasped his hands in thanks.

Although Teyvat has seven gods who know more about the past than ordinary people, they may not know more about the secrets of the Teyvat continent than Su Yu does.

Finally, the deep-sea dragon lizard was bought for 300 million Mora, and the buyer was none other than the wealthy businessman from Fontaine.

"Haha, this thing is extremely rare, as rare as the legendary 'mermaid,' and only the Yuanxia Palace has its legend. Although it's a corpse, its internal organs can be handed over to the Royal Research Institute, and the body can be made into a specimen for exhibition. It's guaranteed to be a huge profit."

"The boss is really amazing."

The wealthy businessman from Fontaine and his beautiful assistant were talking loudly, glancing at Su Yu from time to time, as if showing off his shrewd business acumen.

Zhongli warned, "Mr. Su Yu, he harbors strong malice towards you, so be careful. If you are worried about your personal safety, you can hire me as your bodyguard while you are in Liyue. The fee can be deducted from the Mora you owe."

"No need. He's already dead."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"The Deep Sea Dragon Lizard belongs to the Abyss Order. After this auction, the buyer who purchases the dragon lizard will definitely be targeted by them. And given the character of this Fontaine merchant, he will certainly not allow the Abyss Order to take his things, and the consequence of fighting to the death will be his demise."

Zhongli questioned, "I have a different opinion from you. He is a well-known wealthy man in Fontaine, and he would not cause a conflict with the Abyss Order for such a petty gain."

Su Yu picked up his teacup, smiling but not answering.

The auction at Wanwenjishe was interrupted for more than ten minutes before resuming.

The proprietress, Ji Fang, beamed with joy. At today's auction, Wanwenjishe had made a fortune by taking a cut from every transaction.

Moreover, the following four auction items were all of very high quality, and even she was tempted by the last item in the auction.

"Distinguished guests and friends, we will now auction the fifth item in our collection."

More than a dozen staff members from the auction house carried in a large box. Judging from how hard they were working, the contents of the box must have been quite heavy.

Ji Fang ripped off the red cloth covering it, revealing a dark, irregularly shaped stone with traces of weathering and water erosion on its surface, a testament to its age.