As soon as the old man in the crow-feathered hat saw the other party vanish from the room, the smile hanging on his face abruptly disappeared, replaced by a dark, gloomy expression.
That evening, the old man met with two more loose cultivators at Core Formation stage in the same room. The two similarly handed over some materials, received their benefits in return, and then departed in great delight.
Over the following days, Han Li attended the grand auction at the Nine Heavens Hall every morning without fail.
Having found something worthwhile on the very first day, Han Li naturally harbored great hopes for the auctions that followed.
But unfortunately, he came up empty in the days that followed.
Just as that rich old man surnamed Fu who had traded for the Scarlet Essence Mushroom had said — aside from the dozen or so items placed at the bottom of each day's lots, rare materials of the grade Han Li sought almost never appeared at the auction. The final showpiece items at the end of each session were mostly finished treasures of the magical artifact variety.
It seemed that his luck in snatching the Dark Gold on the very first day had indeed been something of a fluke.
Nevertheless, during this period Han Li had not been idle outside of the auction either. Through various means, he had gathered some information about the underground trading event.
According to the intelligence he had gathered, the first few days of the underground exchange were much the same as the grand auction — apart from the fact that most of the items on offer were things needed by cultivators of the Demonic Dao, they generally did not feature anything particularly rare.
However, on the final day, there was a barter exchange specifically organized for Nascent Soul-level cultivators. In past years, numerous rare materials had appeared at these events, and it was quite possible that he could collect the remaining materials he still needed there.
That said, this exchange was certainly not something just anyone could attend — it seemed only cultivators connected to the Demonic Dao, or those recommended by relevant parties, were allowed to participate.
With this realization, Han Li felt somewhat relieved and set the matter aside for the time being, simply attending the Nine Heavens Hall auctions on schedule each day.
A few days later, on the final day of the auction, Han Li actually discovered yet another material he needed. Energized by this discovery, he spent over a hundred thousand spirit stones to win the item.
Before long, the publicly advertised grand auction finally came to an end.
The cultivators surged out of the auction hall in a crowd. Han Li blended into the throng, descended to the ground, but rather than leaving the market directly, he headed straight for the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.
Han Li had no idea that this action of his had coincidentally allowed him to temporarily avert a crisis.
Several elders of the Yin Luo Sect, who had vanished from the market entrance a few days prior, had suddenly reappeared there. And among them was a new addition — the Holy Maiden of Tianlan, still veiled behind a light gauze.
At this moment, the woman was toying with a small, silver-gleaming mirror in her delicate hand, watching the cultivators passing in and out of the market entrance. Every now and then she glanced down at the mirror, her bright eyes shifting as her dark brows knit tightly together.
As time trickled by, the silver light on the small mirror flickered with increasing intensity, yet the woman remained utterly silent.
The faces of Ge Tianhao and the others standing beside her gradually darkened as well, their expressions growing rather unpleasant.
"I haven't found that person. Among the cultivators who passed through the entrance just now, a few did use illusion arts to conceal their true faces, but none of them was the one we're looking for. Could it be that he really didn't attend the grand auction? If so, then all our efforts these past few days have been for nothing." After a long pause, Lin Yinping let out a breath and said hesitantly.
"That's impossible. How many high-level cultivators who recently came to the Jin Capital would miss this grand auction? Besides, Miss Lin, you saw it with your own eyes that day. That man lingered outside the Treasure Light Hall for quite some time before leaving — it was clear he attached great importance to this auction." Ge Tianhao said slowly.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yinping nodded almost imperceptibly, but the look of contemplation on her lovely face had not faded.
"Could it be that the Marvelous Sound Mirror is not as wondrous as the rumors claim? Or perhaps it has not been refined for long enough, and Fellow Daoist Lin has yet to truly unlock this mirror's full power — which is why she cannot detect that person's trail?" The triangular-eyed elder of the Yin Luo Sect suddenly spoke up.
"That is also quite unlikely. The Marvelous Sound Mirror is one of the Seven Marvels True Master's Seven Marvels Seven True Treasures — a treasure that has been renowned in the cultivation world for a very long time. As for the matter of refinement, ancient treasures originally do not require much refinement at all. This mirror is simply somewhat special; without at least some refinement, its law-breaking divine ability cannot be fully unleashed. The refinement I have done these past few days is already sufficient. Otherwise, those few cultivators who had similarly employed secret techniques would not have had their true faces exposed by this treasure of mine." Lin Yinping shook her head, her cherry lips parting as she explained.
"In that case, either this person's face-concealing illusion technique surpasses the Marvelous Sound Mirror, making him impossible to see through, or he is still lingering in the market for some reason, or he used some other means to leave from a different location." Ge Tianhao's gaze flickered several times as he pondered aloud.
"The Marvelous Sound Mirror has such an enormous reputation — while there may be illusion arts in this world that it cannot see through, such cases are absolutely few and far between. What are the chances this person happens to know such a powerful technique? As for the second possibility, the market is surrounded by the Daoist sect's famous Eight Extremities Light-Splitting Formation. There is no way that person could have broken through the formation and left without anyone noticing. Nine times out of ten, he must still be inside the market." Lin Yinping said with finality.
"What Fellow Daoist Lin means is...?" The triangular-eyed elder grew hesitant.