V3C81: An Engaging Prelude

Another woman approached them, dressed the same as the attendant from before, so unless their full clothing was strangely common in this district despite everything that they had seen so far, she must clearly work here. Judging by her slight trembling and the speed with which she attempted to approach and get things done, she must have also spoken with the previous attendant on the topic of them.

“Would you like to drink or eat anything? Here’s a menu,” the attendant spoke as quickly as lightning, handing them a large sheet of paper with a large list of items, “I can go if you don’t want me to observe your selection, so-”

“We will be having these items,” Wei Yi said before the woman had a chance to flee, handing the paper back with a number of slight burn marks beside the items of interest.

The attendant noticed this, looked between the menu and the Ascendant, then departed in silence with a forced smile on her face that was slowly getting consumed by absolute terror. Whatever she had been told by the woman that had brought them to their seats must have been slightly exaggerated, or else she had a very keen imagination and was already envisaging the worst-case scenario.

As she left, Wei Yi would have raised the killing will barrier again, if not for the fact that the appearance of the attendant appeared to bring the attention of a few others in the hall towards them. Several were in the fourth realm, and one old, wrinkled woman at the back was in the first stage of the fifth realm, so they shouldn’t have the ability to perceive the killing will shield that was, in itself, a fifth realm creation made in part by energy that had the special attribute of being nigh invisible to all others, but the more they looked, the more they would be able to notice.

Ideally, regardless of what they assumed the barrier to be, she wouldn’t give off the impression of being very secretive and quiet, as that would clash horribly with what she was planning to do later, so it was best to not give the wrong ideas a chance to appear in the first place.

She didn’t directly confront anyone who looked at her, since that would be going overboard no matter what she was trying to do, especially when she had chosen to sit in the most prominent seat in the entire auction hall. For now, she focused her attention on the front of the hall, at the empty stage, and waited for the food and drink she ordered to arrive.

With her energy, she transmitted her voice to Shun Liu Min, saying, “I hope you wanted to eat today, because I would prefer to touch as little as possible. I can’t taste regular food, so it is rather tedious.”

“You…” the maid nearly spoke out loud, but restrained herself in time and used the established channel to reply, “That’s an… unfortunate fate… You ordered just to make it clear that you have money to throw around, right? In that case, it would be great to take a break from eating just one thing all the time, although if anything is too fancy in appearance, I’m afraid I will have to pass. Bad memories and all that.”

“Nothing is excessively fancy. It should be filling, but not sufficient to overwhelm a single person.”

As the kitchen in the area wasn’t exactly spending every moment creating all of these items, she couldn’t be certain about the sizes nor the exact outcome of most dishes and drinks, but the menu did make most of the things out to be rather limited in quantity.

Either way, purchasing a lot was the mark of someone with too much money to spend, and if they weren’t able to finish it off, they would even have the opportunity to complain about the quality of the food and amplify the impression, but that should be unlikely since Wei Yi didn’t intend to maintain that presence until the end of the auction. By then, they might offer the food to others.

It could work as a nice peace offering to those that she wouldn’t need to compete with in the moment.

That purchase, which she had yet to pay for, drew more curious eyes that all attempted to observe covertly and without immediate notice, although whether they did this with their spiritual perception or their gaze, it was difficult to disregard them even if she wanted to.

Those that were nearest to her, within the typical limited range of spiritual perception, naturally made use of it, since it tended to be difficult for those in realms lower than one’s own to detect it, but from further away they had little choice other than looking at them past something else to make it look like a coincidence. Most of the people that were drawn to observe their actions seemed to be those with more limited funds, as well as those that had decided to sit in less conspicuous places, and when their limited resources were considered, it wasn’t much of a surprise that they paid that much attention to them.

If they wished to acquire something at the day’s auction, they would need to compete with others, and the more money any one competitor had, the less likely they would be to obtain victory, no matter how much they were willing to spend of their budget. After all, their entire budget might only be one percent of the competition’s, meaning that they wouldn’t be as reluctant to spend it as they would be.

‘Unfortunately for them, not only do I know exactly how much they’ve brought with them, but I can even understand how much they might be willing to spend,’ Wei Yi thought as she continued to ignore their gazes, since it didn’t make sense for someone who seemed as rich as her to care about the opinions of the ‘poor’ folk around her, whereas the inscriber persona would take note of all that observed her and track them down and stab them at some later point if they annoyed her enough.

Some time later, everything that they had ordered was brought over to them, carried not on trays but instead delivered on tables due to the sheer number of things that they needed to deliver.

Had they only brought the trays, only a few would have fit onto the surfaces available near them, and so the inconvenience was necessary for them in order to actually have the purchased items laid out before them, paid for with an illusory bag of gold coins. They would vanish in time, but for now, it satisfied the attendants and they fled once more.

The observers of their actions did not act then, not a single one attempting to approach them, so Wei Yi simply tried a few of the things that had been delivered to them before allowing Shun Liu Min to eat and drink the rest, whether for pure sustenance or to wash away certain tastes.

There was still quite a lot of time until the auction, so she simply leant back and waited.

Over the next hour, people slowly entered the auction hall, some doing so with attendants, servants and friends, while others came alone and didn’t even try to converse with others.

All kinds of people were interested in the upcoming auction, or so it seemed based on the money that they brought with them and the clothing that they wore, not to mention the conditions that their bodies were in. Some were barely in the second realm, so they were most likely there either with some inheritance, allowance or came at the bidding of another, to reserve the seats or to bid on certain items for them. Wei Yi hadn’t asked about the order of the items at the auction, nor whether there would be any beside her own submissions, but since she wasn’t intending to acquire anything anyway, she didn’t really care about it.

So long as she was able to maximise the profits from the sales of her inscriptions, then it would all be fine, even if some more items of interest were sold. It would hardly affect her unless they took up all of the budgets of the other participants in the auction, which she couldn’t stop even if she really wanted to.

Robbing or otherwise disturbing the auction just for something like this really wouldn’t be worth it.

Even if they didn’t report the occurrence to any of the guests, which would be rather unlikely, the fact that certain items won’t appear might cause certain visitors to leave and spend no money at all, or else wait until the end for their items to show up and avoid spending until they can be absolutely certain that they will be able to afford it. Meanwhile, if she was to do nothing, then they could simply spend what they intended on whatever they wanted, then spend the rest of their budget on her items.

As she had nothing better to do, she instead paid attention to the design of the hall itself, and examined the ways in which it differed from the one in Beast’s Rest.

There, most of the VIPs, namely the owners of the Crimson Robes of the Third Arrival, would be sitting behind walls that couldn’t be seen through, bidding with their voices obscured, spending motes of condensed hatred belonging to them and the Beast, long dead as it was, and the items of offer were all curious weapons, items that could have potentially led to the escape from that realm, and curiosities that contained mysteries of their own that couldn’t be explored without the capacity for spiritual will, nor the knowledge from beyond the Kong Prison Realm.

It had a very different atmosphere to this venue, where every single seat could be seen from the majority of locations, but both did place the most significant seats at the top, just as with the auction house in Beast’s Rest.

The exact reasoning behind it could have differed, given that it wouldn’t have been very opportune nor convenient to place the seats behind the primary walls at the same level as the seats in front, since that would have only allowed people to stare at the backs of those who did not receive VIP seats, and there were several levels of those seats as well, so those matters weren’t particularly alike either.

After quite a few of the seats were filled, although none were in the proximity of the wall of food and drink ordered by Wei Yi, the auction itself finally began, in a way.

As had been mentioned by Xin Fu, the selling of any items wouldn’t begin until midnight, and there was still quite a lot of time until then, so what did begin was the event itself. A number of attendants stepped onto the stage at the front, all dressed in far more than the usual person would be in this region, although parts of the women’s stomachs, arms and legs were still exposed, while she didn’t bother looking at the men.

They all formed a line near the back of the stage, and kept their heads lowered while they waited for another to ascend to the stage. All those that had decided to keep an eye on Wei Yi looked away then, waiting for some presenter or auctioneer to appear. Judging by the amount of attention focused on their imminent appearance, it seemed that they would be someone important.

Due to this, she also decided to pay attention, if only to keep up appearances.

It took a few minutes, but nobody looked away unless they needed to momentarily do so, but their eyes would immediately return to the front, confirming that initial assumption. Had they been waiting for someone of lesser significance, the wealthier and more powerful would have certainly chosen to look elsewhere, and the poorer and weaker individuals would have probably believed that it wasn’t any of their business anyway, but that did not happen. In fact, the longer they waited, the more people began to focus on the front.

‘Are they waiting for a master of mental manipulation arts? Or, perhaps it is some attractive woman, since the majority of people can appreciate looks, men and women alike…’

Such wild speculation naturally did not end up being accurate, for the person that did emerge was someone that she wasn’t unfamiliar with. An old man who coughed with every other step, requiring a cane in order to walk, a beard covering his face and front by reaching down all the way to his feet, and dressed in a familiar silver robe with red highlights of the Yi family.

“Good evening, everyone. I am Yi Laoshi… and I thank you for waiting for me,” he coughed numerous times, although he somehow to stand up more steadily than he had the last time that she had seen him, “Normally, I would be invited to lecture… on realms and stages, so I am… somewhat unfamiliar with auctions. I hope that you will not… be inconvenienced by my lack of knowledge and experience in the matter…”

‘This man is still alive, and is in the Chao District? Furthermore, he rose from the eighth stage to the ninth of Active Core? Uh… alright, I guess…’

His appearance was not something that she had expected, but it was unlikely to cause her any trouble. Even if the old man somehow remembered a girl that had intentionally chosen an unassuming location in a lecture hall and didn’t interrupt a word that he said, he would be hard pressed to liken that visage with her present state. Her hair, body, clothing and demeanour had all changed since then, and she was currently occupying the most significant position in the auction hall. The fact that he shouldn’t even need to bother her did not need to be mentioned with all of these factors, but it was still relevant in a way.

“I hope that everyone… is having a good day. Since there is… some time until we begin… I shall talk about my insights… into the Active Core and subsequent Marked Core realm…” Yi Laoshi broke out into another coughing fit, but none seemed to mind, “My apologies…”

Although his sudden appearance here was certainly coincidental and unexpected, what was more astounding was the fact that his attitude was completely different from what it had been back then, and yet everyone remained highly respectful. Of course, the reason that he was acting in a more assured manner when it came to a bunch of children was due to his vastly higher authority and power, and if he hadn’t done so, most would have likely cared even less than they had at the time.

It was pretty natural to link that with more adult minds realising the importance of knowledge, and especially of someone who had a lot of it, and would share it more freely due to it benefitting him.

To needlessly upset or alienate someone like that, such as a man that practised something called the Manual of Impartation which was said to permit someone to cultivate and develop through teaching and sharing of knowledge, would lead to terrible consequences if their enemies managed to earn a lecture or two from him in their stead.

While his realm was obviously not the highest in any of the districts, save for the abandoned Kong District, he did possess an immense amount of knowledge when compared to anyone else in the same realm. Whether or not it could be put to use in combat or elsewhere, rather than simply being shared, wasn’t certain from his appearance and feebleness alone, as even the weakest men could topple giants so long as they knew exactly what to do, it did not matter so long as others could receive it from him. It explained why everyone had been waiting patiently for him.

Normally, Wei Yi wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to learn some more things – and she wasn’t intending to miss some additional insights on the realm that she was approaching – she was rather put off by the fact that she couldn’t detect a single hint of a Dao around him.

Most of the people in the room had an incredibly basic, likely unconscious grasp of one Dao or another, depending on what they had chosen to focus on with their techniques and cultivation, but Yi Laoshi lacked such a thing. He did not possess the aura of an elemental Dao, nor a more abstract thing such as the Dao of Teaching or the Dao of Learning, both of which would likely be present around someone who had dedicated most of his life to teaching.

That was strange, to say the least, but she seemed to be the only one with any kind of vision state, not to mention one as broad in its applications as the Vision of Law. She could hardly call him out, nor did she really need to. With someone like Aimi Miyu at her side, as well as a mental library that she could freely sort and manipulate, she didn’t need to worry about learning and sticking to false information, and if he did fill his lectures with falsehoods, the only ones to actually suffer would be the other visitors of the auction. Depending on their nature and allegiances, it might actually benefit her to let him spread as many lies as possible.

‘Then again, assumptions, again. I should avoid them unless it’s necessary.’

“First of all, the Active Core… realm…” he began coughing even more heavily than before, prompting one of the attendants behind him to finally step forward and give him a small pill, which he quickly consumed and digested.

He took a few deep breaths, taking advantage of a clear throat, and drank a glass of water before he was able to resume properly.

“As I was saying, the Active Core realm… mhm. It is the fourth realm of planar cultivation and is believed by most to be the moment that a cultivator takes a true step towards the power of planar energy. With the ability to condense solid planar energy, using it to condense arrays, inscriptions and to create planar constructs that are more solid than true creatures and objects, we truly become different from many of the common men of the world. However, I believe that it also has a different purpose.”

Yi Laoshi paused, letting everyone else get their surprise out of the way, but everyone either didn’t dare to speak, or didn’t care enough to do so. Wei Yi was in the latter category, since she had some ideas on the realm of her own in part thanks to Yi Shi Ming, so she was curious to compare notes.

“With my current cultivation, I believe that it is merely a realm in which one builds their foundation, just as with the Energy Condensation realm. Some already believe this to be the case due to the Marked Core realm, which I will also mention, but I don’t think that is the full extent of it. You see, through my comprehension of cultivation itself, I believe that everything that is done now is done in service of the eighth realm! The planar pool, the anchor, core, marks, channels, halos – all of it!”

That did earn some hushed whispers, but they were still really restrained.

It was quite common to refer to one’s cultivation as an endless process of constructing a foundation, although few would believe that this was truly a perpetual process. Whether it was at the third, fifth, or ninth realm, the great structure that the foundations were for would finally be constructed, and they believed that it was merely a matter of time.

“Energy is condensed, then formed into a pool. From the pool rises an anchor, which supports a core. The core is emblazoned with marks that empower it, these marks link to the anchor, and a series of halos form around it. I believe that by that realm, it is no longer that the anchor supports the core, but the other way around! At the eighth realm, the anchor might no longer exist!” Yi Laoshi’s tone was changing from a lecture to mad ravings, but nobody stopped him, “The core would be there to support the new creation, to contain and make use of it via the channels and the halos. At that point, whatever is created might allow for the near-limitless power of the Master of Yi City and his disciples!”

In the ears of many, it sounded rather ludicrous, especially with the way that he chose to present it, but one knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was correct.

‘The Imperfect Rift realm is exactly that. The anchor collapsed into the rift, from which energy pours out endlessly, connecting to some unseen and unknown realm from which all planar energy is said to originate. Odd. How has he failed to comprehend any Dao despite figuring this out?’

With how many potential paths and Dao there were out there, it seemed really unlikely that there wouldn’t be a Planar Dao that was separate from the Great Dao, as the latter included all things and not just those influenced and created through planar energy. Thus, with someone understanding the eighth realm while only being in the fourth, they would certainly possess the qualifications to possess such a Dao.

She couldn’t think of many possibilities for what she was seeing with that in mind. Most of those around her still had traces of Dao comprehension without being aware of what they were achieving, but this man, who should have known very well what he was doing, lacked it. That meant that he had obtained this insight in an extremely strange manner where he failed to properly comprehend it and relate it to planar energy itself, or that he was told about these things, and that he was merely reciting something that he had little understanding of.

The latter would be more dangerous, as it would mean that there were still entities and beings out there that knew or possibly even were in the eighth realm, which would be able to greatly limit Wei YI’s ability to do anything if they chose to side against her.

‘What kind of person or entity would know such a thing, however? The Great Families certainly would, but they refuse to share any information with anyone, so there’s little chance that they would permit this old man to spread his theory. If it is someone that goes against the Greats… Great Earth’s twin halves could possess that knowledge, although I’m not sure how they would get this out either…’ she pondered the matter while the old man took a moment to drink a little more, ‘More work for me…’

“However, you haven’t come here to hear the conjectures of an old man, and instead wish to understand the fourth and fifth realms. I can share that with you as well. First of all, I believe that taking your time through each stage of the Active Core realm contributes to the final number of searing marks that you will obtain. Each stage, you must reinforce the core as much as possible before moving onto the next stage, or else you shall waste a prime opportunity to become incredibly powerful in the next realm! In addition, the purity of your energy is vital. If you rushed through the first two realms, or if you got that far due to the supplementation of pills, then you will not get as far. Only by absolutely cleansing the impurities from your body will you be able to attain a good number of marks.

“Also, I believe that it is vital to state that if you ever damage your core, you must do so carefully and minimize the harm. I have heard some wild guesses that by damaging your core, you will be able to prepare the space for marks when you reach the fifth realm, and while I have not experimented with it myself, I do not believe that you should ever do so unless you have a fifth realm expert or above by your side! Even then, the searing marks of all individuals are in different places and may take on different shapes, so unless your techniques and physiques are highly similar, recklessly damaging your core will bring you no benefit! Do you understand that? No benefit whatsoever,” Yi Laoshi stated with great confidence, staring at some in the audience who seemed likely to have damaged their cores.

His earlier humble attitude appears to have been somewhat forgotten by him, showing that he might have been far more comfortable and used to lecturing foolish children and young adults than respected members of society.

Wei Yi hadn’t heard of such an approach before, but she could see both why someone had come up with it in the first place as well as why it would likely be a terrible idea. The searing marks that appeared upon one’s core did indeed seem like damaged areas of the core, and it seemed that it would be beneficial to make the core weaker in areas where they would appear as to make it easier for them to do so. However, this was at odds with the nature of the progression of planar cultivation, wherein the core would support the anchor, rather than the other way around, so it seemed foolish to do so.

Of course, it might be that if the spots were repeatedly weakened, then stabilised back up to the regular endurance of the core, it might grant one strength now and later, but she doubted it.

“Now, beyond this, I would also advise spreading your energy throughout your core equally whenever you cultivate. Do not support one spot and then cover the rest, but instead ensure that everything is empowered equally. It should increase the chances of getting more searing marks.”

After he provided some more pieces of minor advice, all of which Wei Yi did record for the sake of later study and investigation when she reached the fourth realm and witnessed what kind of technique the Truth of the Universe prescribed to her, he moved onto the more basic elements of the Active Core realm. These were also recorded carefully, both to allow Aimi Miyu to learn from their truths and falsehoods, but also to allow Yi Shi Ming to go through them and correct any elements she could.

As someone who obtained her realm only through her son’s support and her becoming a spatial spirit of the Kong Prison Realm, she wouldn’t be as aware of most principles of cultivation as others of her realm, but she should still be able to point out the most flawed elements of the old man’s lecture so long as she focused on it for a while.

Then, when he ran out of things to say on the topic of the Active Core realm, he moved onto the Marked Core realm, which was of significantly greater interest to many in the hall.

While quite a few were still in the fourth realm, even amidst the higher realm crowd in the auction hall, most had gone far enough with whatever they had or had not done, and as such it would be rather difficult for them to change much about their path without shattering the core and beginning anew, although that would come with its own complications aside from the most obvious ones of losing their power and certain privileges temporarily.

However, they had not yet made any mistakes in the fifth realm, since they hadn’t stepped into it yet. If they could avoid as many as possible, they might even be able to near the ultimate limit of ninety-nine marks.

“Now, in the Marked Core realm, a certain number of marks will appear with each stage, and that number cannot be changed. The moment that the fifth realm is entered, your fate is sealed. However, that doesn’t mean that your marks shall be as powerful as that of another person, or that they have to remain the same. So long as they are nourished and supported properly while you cultivate, they can become as much as twice as effective. However, you must be careful, or else your dantian will not be able to support the stress of the superior energy,” Yi Laoshi continued, “I can provide some insights on that matter as well, so…”

He continued, talking about many things and in great detail, but it was somehow only then that Wei Yi realised just which district they were in right now.

‘Is somebody going to go inside and clobber that poor man? I doubt he’d appreciate it, although I also have no idea who let him in here…’ she glanced around with her spiritual perception to confirm something, ‘Most of these people aren’t from the Chao family, so perhaps the threat to his life is lessened here…’

Aside from that random thought, she kept observing carefully, paying attention to the things that he was saying while noting down everything of interest within the Ascendant’s Library and the prison realm, where she would let the Antanorden otherworldly demon go through it at her own convenience.