Mu Yanbei looked Sean Wu up and down. It was unlikely this young man would be able to steal the Mu family crest off Mu Laohu, seeing as he did not even have a cultivation base. Had Sean Wu at least been in the first stage of Qi Condensation, then Mu Yanbei could have had some suspicions. However this young man was completely ordinary, and without any dao intent.

"Who are you?" Mu Yanbei asked.

"I'm Sean Wu."

".... " Mu Yanbei paused momentarily, then continued. "How did you come across my sister's hairpin?"

Sean Wu looked up at the ceiling and began to recall the hardships he had gone through the previous night. He had been chased by a spiritual beast, forced to climb down into a crevice to look for a hairpin, chased by a giant mantis, and had slept in the open for a short period time. He remembered the girl that nearly burnt him to a crisp in the crossfire, and her note instructing him to come to the auction house. The image of an abomination chasing him up the mountain had scarred him for life. Sean Wu felt a tear roll down his cheek. His expression was dark as he stared up at the ceiling. "This hairpin, I had retrieved it after she had used it to repel a demonic beast."

Mu Yanbei's eye widened, he leaned in close. "You said your name was Sean Wu. Please tell me what happened on that night-"

"Haha." A derisive laugh interrupted him.

Mu Yanbei's expression turned grim.

"The Mu* clan has surely fallen to such a state. I had heard the Winter Solstice Tiger would be attending this year's alchemy conference, so I just had to make my way over personally, however she is nowhere to be seen." A young man, dressed in a scarlet robe with a woven sparrow's crest, stood a 500 Li's distance from Mu Yanbei.

Gu Mung's gaze locked onto the hairpin in Sean Wu's grip, and then onto Sean Wu. "The Mu clan's legacy treasure, Three-Tigers Bordering the Edge of Eternity Hairpin. Then you must be Mu Lao Hu. Hmph, the rumors of the Winter Solstice Tiger’s refined beauty must be wildly blown out of proportions because you are just about the ugliest girl I have ever laid eyes upon. Mu Yanbei, shouldn't you be ashamed to be related to such an ugly girl? Whatever, the reason I am here is to tell you that my sister, Gu Riluo will also be attending tonight’s alchemy conference. Her pill concoction is leagues ahead of the rest of the competition, so you should just drop out out of the running before losing your clan any more face."

Hearing Gu Mung insult his sister caused Mu Yanbei's eyes to flash with venomous hatred. "Gu Mung! You shut your dog* mouth!! Screw your 18th generation ancestors!! How dare you judge my sister's face when your sister looks like a silverback gorilla!! Did you know, a 500 Li's distance from here is the Hundred-Million Li Amazonian Rainforest which produces an average 130 quintillion cubic meters of oxygen a day. I want you to find that specific tree and kowtow in front of it for wasting its oxygen!!"

"Mu Yanbei you f*cker, I am telling your sister to drop out of this year's alchemy conference in consideration for our two clans' past relations. If you think that ugly b*tch beside you can even hold a candle to my own then why don't we put a wager on it? If your sister can advance past mine, then I will forfeit this Three Colored Qi Lightning Branch and call you my grandfather." Gu Mung's face turned ugly.

"F*ck you! If your sister makes it past mine, then I am willing up offer up my Karmic Tribulation Lily and change my surname to Gu Yanfan." Mu Yanbei had gone crazy from anger.

“You really think your ugly sister right there will make it past the first round?!”

“I know she will make it further than your sister will! Mu Lao Hu, tell him about the time you concocted a Cosmetic Cultivation Pill over a campfire, without a cauldron, and using only beans as the ingredient!"

Sean Wu stood between the two of them with a strange expression.

[Hey you know I am not your sister, right?]

下一幕

Within the Main Lobby of the auction house, thin velvet curtains and white robes gently swayed in the spring-summer breeze. Leaves and petals twirled and danced, along with a twinkling of wind chimes. A running stream carried with it the faint scent of mist and hyacinth, surrounded by tall evergreens in eternal bloom. White plum blossoms lined the water's surface, falling like snowflakes. A wide sea of guests poured out into the main lobby, their faces filled with looks of astonishment and starry-eyed gazes.

Amidst the buzz of lighthearted conversation, a single foot had passed through the open doors, stepping onto the tiled floor. The sounds of laughter and feverish discussion came to a complete halt, as a path opened up leading to the stairway in the center of the lobby.

Five men and women, dressed in white robes walked across the open path, steadily making their way up the flight of stairs and into the floor above. A white-haired old man; a hunchback, cackling granny; a muscular middle-aged man in a woman's dress; an expressionless young man carrying a bone-white sword; and a tall woman, whose steps caused mountains to form beneath her feet.

The crowd watched in utter silence as the five figures disappeared moving up the steps into the floor above. The silence lasted for only a brief moment, before loud discussions broke out among the cultivators present in the lobby.

"The tall woman is Matriarch Xiannu of the Meng Clan. They say members of her bloodline are cursed from birth, and must continually grow stronger or be crushed to death by the 'burden of Ji'. The curse grows stronger with each passing year, compounding in mass. The ancestor of the Meng clan brought her in when she was a little girl, and taught her to pursue the path of body cultivation. Many afflicted with this curse don't live past twenty years of age, however you can tell she has lived for a very long time as evident from the sheer weight emanating from each of her steps."

"Frightening!"

"The weight of a mountain confined within each step."

"How strong must one be to withstand such a weight?"

"Lin Shushuyan, she might be able to even lift up your mom."

Another cultivator chimed in, pointing up at the stairway. "That middle-aged man wearing a dress, he is Patriarch Huā of the Huáng Zì Clan. Their family is notorious for practicing a heaven defying cultivation arts that requires the practitioner to abandon their manhood. It is said many in their ranks have a woman's heart and will only chase after men."

"A cultivation art that requires one to sever the root chakra!"

"How utterly vicious!"

"The will of the heavens is filled with cultivation methods as numerous as the stars in the sky. It can be said the Huáng Zì blossoming art is one of many."

"F*cker, are you trying to tell me cutting off my little john is the will of the heavens?! Don't go talking nonsense!"

"The old man in front of the group is Shuāng Clan's grand elder, Lu Shuāng Yá. He has reportedly been in closed-door cultivation for the past several hundred years. His longevity must be nearing its end, for him to make his way here personally. It is more than likely that Lu Shuāng Yá hopes to acquire a coffin* (TL Note: boat) that can ferry himself upstream* (TL: translates to "youth" or "longevity")."

"He is practically guaranteed to die."

"Why go to such lengths, all for a small chance of attaining a 60-year cycle's worth of longevity?"

"It is unlikely he will succeed. The Yellow River* is a funeral procession for the living. Countless boats will enter, however only one can make it through to the end.”

"My father went to go get milk one day and never came back, that must be where he disappeared to."

下一幕

Plum blossoms fell, covering the stairway in varying shades of white and pink.

Wáng Yu ascended the steps, walking slowly as he watched the flower petals sway in midair. His white scholar's robe, fine-tailored and embroidered with the image of a violet dove, fluttered in the absence of wind. The susurration of murmuring voices and dissonant laughter around him had long since become mixed in with the sound of running water.

Beside Wáng Yu, a tall and elegant woman brushed her hand against the railing of the stairway. Her every step caused tremors which shook the entire structure.

'The Matriarch of the Meng Clan; despite her youthful appearance, her situation is no different than that of Lu Shuāng Yá. She too, is running on borrowed time. The 'burden of Ji', the curse on her bloodline will only compound in weight with each passing year. By a conservative estimate, in two to three years' time perhaps she would no longer be able to handle the crushing weight. She is likely here to find a way to suppress her bloodline curse.' Thought Wáng Yu, casting her a sidelong glance.

'As for Lu Shuāng Yá...' Wáng Yu raised his head, looking in the direction of the old man at the front of the line. 'The rumors suggest he still has about half a sixty-year cycle to prepare for the entering the Yellow River*, however that is likely not the case. His body emanates a faint death aura, meaning he has long since ran out of longevity. Lu Shuāng Yá is a walking corpse holding on with sheer willpower. He cannot afford any more setbacks.'

’'The other three are here with a clear goal in mind. Lu Shuāng Yá and Xiannu Meng are here to find a life extension method. The old woman, Matriarch Song, is only concerned with obtaining a Qi Siphon pill from the alchemy conference. As for the Huáng Zì Patriarch, there is no telling why he had to make a trip here personally. If it were for an item in the auction, simply sending a representative from the Huáng Zì Clan would suffice. Perhaps he is here for a different reason altogether?'

‘No matter. Their goals should not overlap with mine. I now have three pieces of the ancestor’s bones. Next should be...” Wáng Yu gripped the bone sword in his left hand, his eyes flickered with a cold light.

下一幕

An incense time after separating from Mu Yanbei, Sean Wu returned to his seat in the auction room to find Baixiao Tiangu sitting with one foot raised over the other. The young master was covered in blood.

"Sun Wu, welcome back." Baixiao Tiangu nodded towards Sean with a smile.

"Mind telling me why you are covered in blood?"

"Oh, this? It's nothing much. Come, come. Have a seat. The auction is about to start."

"Alright." Sean leaned back in his chair and faced the front.

The auction room was a massive expanse of mountains and seas; guests continually poured in through the doors.

A chandelier above the auction platform shimmered with a dozen colored lights. At first sight, it seemed ordinary, with no artful patterns or eye-catching shine to it. But if one were to look away for a moment, that same glass chandelier would become gold with a dandelion instead. And then a tulip, or a lotus, or a myriad of other things. Its transitions were instantaneous and variations endless. This hanging fixture, which would have wowed even the most apathetic of folk, was not even given a glance. As every panting, or flora, or hand-carved pillar in the area possessed even more wondrous features.

As the auction had not yet started, Sean decided to open the system menu in the meantime.

Sean Wu - Level 2 - The one who aspires to ascend

Physique: Mortal Grade - Cultivation: Mortal Grade - (25/100)

HP: Low

MP: Medium

ATK: Low

DEF: Low

STA: Medium

SPD: Medium

Next: 0/1250 EXP

Skills

Bone-Melting Palm grabs the Elephant's Trunk - Level 1 - (43/1000)

Divine Serpent's Flickering Tongue - Level 1 - (207/1000)

'My stats have changed.' Thought Sean Wu. 'Is it from back when I held the avocado, or is it because I leveled up?'