Leilin noticed that after those two wizards left, several other wizards in the cavern secretly followed them as well. Clearly, driven by enormous profit, wizards didn't mind playing the part of robbers occasionally.
"A pity, but compared to the Oakheart Family, your methods are still too crude..."
Leilin sighed and looked toward the platform again.
As soon as that wizard stepped down, another sphere of black light transformed into a streak of light and took the position. A somewhat flattering male voice emerged from within: "Esteemed lords, what I wish to present is..."
Leilin watched everything coldly. The items presented here were a level above those at the auction, and there were even many rare treasures rumored to have become extinct.
Furthermore, the asking prices were relatively low. Many wizards requested barter trades, even willing to exchange for rare materials worth a tier below.
Wizards like the previous one who would accept any form of exchange—even Magic Stones—were rare. Most specified particular resources.
Those who didn't specify particular items couldn't sell regardless of how many Magic Stones were offered, and could only step down regretfully.
Overall, while only quality items appeared at this exchange, the transaction rate for each wasn't particularly high.
Halfway through, it was finally Leilin's turn.
He walked up to the platform thoughtfully, having already decided what to present.
An ancient black female crown, along with several colorful potions, floated up from his hands.
"A magical artifact—the
Leilin pushed his hand forward, and all the items floated upward, shimmering with an alluring luster.
"All of these—I hope to exchange them for one piece of Astral Stone, or information on how to obtain Astral Stone..."
Presenting these items had been carefully considered. Among them, the Bloodfire Potion and others were all top-grade. With his apothecary expertise, as long as the ingredients were gathered, brewing more wouldn't be difficult.
As for the Dark Elf Crown, this magical artifact had little use for him. Its abilities didn't match his needs, and it was from the Dark Polar Domain—wizards from the Central Continent would never be able to identify its origin, making it perfect for selling.
As for other bloodline-related treasures, or purified bloodlines—the traces were too obvious and too easy to expose. Unless absolutely necessary, Leilin didn't want to move those.
It had to be said that everything Leilin presented was highly practical. The Dark Elf Crown was, after all, a magical artifact with considerable value.
But all of these combined, if exchanged for Astral Stone, would probably only yield a piece the size of a fingertip. And just exchanging for information alone seemed too generous.
Leilin looked down at the wizards below with anticipation. To construct an Astral Gate, the amount of Astral Stone needed would likely require selling him many times over, but he didn't have such extravagant hopes right now. After all, constructing an Astral Gate was the exclusive domain of Morning Star Wizards.
What he currently wanted was resources for preliminary research. At that level, just a small amount of Astral Stone would suffice.
But the scarcity of Astral Stone was somewhat beyond Leilin's expectations. Although his exhibits caused quite a stir among the wizards below, not a single one was willing to come forward for an exchange.
And using just information—they didn't have sufficiently authentic materials. Don't underestimate wizards; their ability to evaluate intelligence was extremely sharp. The wizards below couldn't produce information convincing enough to fool Leilin.
"Sigh..." Leilin sighed inwardly.
Then suddenly, his peripheral vision caught a flicker within one of the black light spheres.
Overjoyed, he immediately ordered the Chip to activate full scanning, even emitting star-flake waves to lure the Stardust Mites on the other person into cooperating.
Through the Chip's interface, the faint outline of an elderly male figure appeared. The images collected by luring the Stardust Mites were somewhat blurry, but they were enough for Leilin to identify the person—because he had just seen this old man earlier!
"It's Vance! The patriarch of the Nonolifa Family?" Leilin's mind stirred. He noted the hesitation on the other's face, then turned and stepped down from the platform.
"Esteemed lords, what I wish to offer is..."
As soon as he left the platform, another wizard hurriedly came up, presenting several high-energy biological materials and launching into an eloquent introduction...
After every wizard in the venue had taken a turn, Leo immediately announced that the exchange had entered the free trading phase.
The so-called free trading meant that every wizard present could claim a seat and display what they wanted to sell, much like setting up a street stall.
This was the final opportunity for wizards who had come up empty-handed in the previous rounds.
Even if they couldn't exchange for the resources they urgently needed, they could sell here and convert them into Magic Stones or other more commonly accepted currencies.
However, some wizards who were already satisfied or had no interest in Magic Stones departed immediately after the first round, using random teleportation arrays to leave the private trading session.
Leilin, unhurried, made his way to a stall seat and laid out the Dark Elf Crown and top-grade potions he had presented earlier, accepting only Astral Stone exchanges with no intention of selling for Magic Stones.
He watched Vance, still hesitating not far away, and a hint of a smile appeared in his heart.
He was fishing. Although the other party had apparently held back earlier for some unknown reason, he certainly had a stockpile of Astral Stone—or at the very least, information about it. All of these were hope.
"Sir, may I take a look at your items?"
To Leilin's surprise, before Vance could come over, someone else was drawn in.
The newcomer had golden-yellow hair and a warm, enthusiastic smile on his face. In the entire venue, the only one not using a wizard array for concealment was this Leo.
"So it's Lord Leo! Of course you may. However, I only accept Astral Stone!"
Leilin spread his hands. His voice, heavily masked by the Chip, prevented the other from recognizing him.
"My, my... this magical artifact was crafted using very ancient techniques, still bearing the style of the ancient Gloomy Dark Forest region..."
Leo clearly wasn't very interested in the top-grade potions on Leilin's stall, but he couldn't put down the Dark Elf magical artifact.
"I'm truly sorry!" After examining it for a long while, Leo reluctantly set down the crown.
"One of my cousins is very fond of this style of items. Moreover, this is a magical artifact! I'd very much like to purchase it—name your price in Magic Stones..."
Leo's face was sincere. For someone of his standing to speak this way was quite rare.
"I'm sorry, but I don't need Magic Stones. I only want Astral Stone—even a small amount will do!"
Leilin politely but firmly refused. "I'm sorry, you're blocking me!"
With Leo here, although some gossipy wizards had gathered, Vance's light sphere was clearly shrinking back.
"Heh heh... Sir
Leo stared at the black light sphere before him, his eyes seeming to pierce through the concealment array to Leilin's face beneath.
"What? Is the Oakheart Family trying to coerce me?" Leilin's voice suddenly rose, attracting the attention of numerous wizards.
"Of course not! You've misunderstood! I was merely impatient—my apologies!"
This was clearly beyond Leo's expectations. A wizard who would refuse to sell face to his family like this was truly a first.
Family reputation was the foundation on which the auction house survived. He immediately bowed in apology, but a flash of malice passed through the depths of his eyes.
"How dare... how dare treat me this way?"
He issued a secret command, and Leilin immediately noticed that the Stardust Mites he had already hypnotized and subjugated received instructions to leak his appearance and rank information, and also to crawl onto his body and form specific tracking formulae.
"Against an ordinary wizard, you'd definitely pull this off. But against me..."
Leilin sneered inwardly. "Chip, simulate the waves!"
"Task initiated. Commencing operations..." Soon, false information was transmitted through invisible waves to Leo, along with a signal indicating successful tracking.
"Heh heh... Sir, please accept this Astral Stone as my apology!"
Having already written Leilin off as a dead man, Leo generously produced a purple brocade box and presented it to him.
"Oh? An unexpected bonus?"
Leilin was delighted. He opened the box to find an Astral Stone the size of a quail egg lying quietly inside.
"I was merely trying to purchase with Magic Stones earlier. Since you're unwilling to accept, I have no choice but to part with this reluctantly!"
Leo's words were polished, and by using an Astral Stone worth more than everything on Leilin's stall combined, he successfully turned around his family's image.
"Ah, I was too hasty just now as well. My apologies!"
Leilin immediately secured the Astral Stone and put it away. "These items are all yours!" He gestured to the potions and crown on the stall.
With his items, he could have exchanged for at most an Astral Stone the size of a fingertip. What Leo had paid was the size of a quail egg—Leilin had certainly gotten the better end of the deal.
Watching Leilin, Leo collected the items from the stall, especially the Dark Elf Crown, which he carefully stored away. Inwardly, he sneered.
"Enjoy it. Rejoice. Unfortunately, this Astral Stone is only borrowing time in your possession. Soon enough, you'll hand it back to me willingly—along with your life."