"Sir, that's not in line with…"
The auctioneer began to speak instinctively but quickly swallowed the word "rules."
The Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife had been at Starlight Auction House for quite some time. As others had mentioned, it had been passed down from higher-tier auctions, and its base price had dropped repeatedly, now sitting at just one hundred thousand gold soul coins.
The auction house had even promised a one percent commission on the total amount to the auctioneer who could finally sell this cursed blade.
Now, with someone finally showing interest in the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife, the auctioneer couldn't afford to scare them off over a technicality.
On one hand, it was just letting someone take a closer look; on the other, it was a one percent commission. Gritting her teeth, the auctioneer relented. "Very well, dear guest, please come up to the stage for a closer look."
Some people who hadn't yet left the auction hall overheard the exchange between Lin Xiao and the auctioneer and paused. Human nature loves a spectacle, and they were curious to see if this carving knife would finally be sold.
Lin Xiao didn't avoid their gazes and walked up to the auction stage.
"Sir, for safety, it's best not to touch it directly."
As expected of an auctioneer, her words were tactful. Worried that Lin Xiao might break protocol by handling the item, she framed her caution as concern for his well-being.
Lin Xiao glanced at the auctioneer, then shifted his attention to the carving knife before him. To avoid putting her in a difficult position, he stopped a step away from the table holding the knife, narrowing his eyes slightly to carefully sense what was inside it.
This is the Gold of Life...
A thought slowly surfaced in his mind, but Lin Xiao didn't let his guard down in the slightest.
As an Evil Soul Master, he understood the terrifying and bizarre methods of his kind far better than most. Curses, in particular, were not only extremely covert but often even more sinister than other techniques.
Even with his considerable knowledge of Evil Soul Masters, Lin Xiao didn't dare to confidently claim he could neutralize the curse on this carving knife.
Thus, despite the Gold of Life being right in front of him, if he couldn't devise a way to deal with the curse, he would abandon it without hesitation.
"Sir, legend has it that the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife was originally used by a powerful Evil Soul Master whose cultivation once surpassed nine rings. Over three thousand years ago, he brought a storm of bloodshed to the continent."
"This carving knife was crafted in his later years. It's said to contain a trace of that Evil Soul Master's soul, constantly tempting its user toward evil. According to the auction house's assessment, if the soul master using it has a light attribute and a sufficiently strong will, they might be able to avoid the backlash."
Seeing Lin Xiao's serious examination, the auctioneer softly began to elaborate on the details of the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife.
Lin Xiao nodded slightly as he listened.
While legends often contained exaggerations and couldn't always be taken at face value, some were grounded in truth.
He could indeed sense the presence of a residual soul within the carving knife.
The Evil Soul Master who left this soul fragment in the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife knew that the Gold of Life contained immense power but didn't know how to wield it. Thus, out of spite, they placed a curse on it, even sacrificing a fragment of their own soul to embed within it.
Lin Xiao didn't know how to break the curse, but he happened to have some expertise in souls.
After a moment of careful thought, he suddenly turned and returned to his seat below the stage.
"Sir, you…" The auctioneer looked at Lin Xiao with anticipation.
"I bid one hundred thousand gold soul coins." Raising his number 13 tag, Lin Xiao leaned back in his chair as he had before.
"Very well, the mystery item, the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife, has a bid of one hundred thousand gold soul coins from guest number 13. Are there any other bids?"
The remaining audience members exchanged glances. Seeing Lin Xiao's earlier demeanor, they boldly speculated that he might have found a way to dispel the curse.
However, since they themselves didn't know how to handle the curse, raising the bid and ending up with the knife would be like holding a hot potato.
The auction hall fell silent. The auctioneer, as if expecting this, swiftly brought down her hammer. "One hundred thousand once, one hundred thousand twice, one hundred thousand three times—sold!"
Seemingly afraid Lin Xiao might back out, she sped up the hammering.
"Sir, you can settle the payment at the back. As for this item…" The auctioneer's smile was impossible to conceal as she looked at Lin Xiao with utmost courtesy.
"Find me a nice-looking box to pack it in."
"Yes, sir."
Those still lingering in the hall felt a twinge of disappointment at Lin Xiao's words. They had thought someone had finally cracked the curse of the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife, but his reluctance to touch it and request for a fancy box suggested he was likely buying it as a collectible.
The crowd lost interest and began to leave one by one.
Lin Xiao glanced at the now-empty auction hall before heading to the payment area.
Though the Holy Spirit Cult didn't deal in gold soul coins, with his cultivation, accumulating one hundred thousand wasn't particularly difficult.
The metal extracted from the belly of a Gold-Devouring Beast had fetched a good price before, and the pelts of some Silver Wolves had also earned him a fair amount. Combined with his transactions with the Peaceful Alliance over the past two years, one hundred thousand gold soul coins wasn't an exorbitant sum for him.
Once the transaction was complete, the staff at Starlight Auction House watched as Lin Xiao placed the box containing the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife into his storage soul tool. Their expressions relaxed instantly, as if a great burden had finally been lifted.
"Sir, although you've only participated in one auction, your total transaction amount has exceeded one hundred thousand gold soul coins. Your rank at Starlight Auction House has been upgraded accordingly. Next time, you can directly participate in the higher-tier Purple auctions."
The auctioneer from earlier jogged over to Lin Xiao, handing him a purple card. Its starry pattern faintly formed the shape of a crown, with the golden characters "Shen Hao" already engraved on it.
"Alright, I'll take it."
"Safe travels, sir!"
The staff behind Lin Xiao bowed in unison.
Once his figure completely disappeared outside the auction house, the staff finally spoke again.
"Quick, go report to the boss. Tell him the cursed blade has finally been sold."
"Yes." Someone immediately responded. "Should we investigate his identity?"
"Wait for the boss's instructions after the report. We shouldn't act on our own for tasks like this."
"Yes."
Meanwhile, after leaving the auction house, Lin Xiao didn't rush back to his lodging. Instead, like a true out-of-town visitor, he wandered through various attractions.
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Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
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