Invincibility Begins with a Super Fairy Manny

Chapter 2868: Chapter 2869: Starry Core

"What is that?"

"No idea!"

"Doesn’t look like anything special. Why would the Hundred Benevolence Store use it to open the auction?"

People were whispering to each other, discussing in low voices, most of them wearing puzzled expressions.

Only a small number seemed to recognize where this thing came from, and they immediately straightened up, their gazes burning as they stared at this lump of rock.

Someone muttered, "Its texture is like iron, its weight like a mountain! This... could this be a Starry Core from when the world first formed?"

The old man on the stage burst out laughing when he heard this. "Good, there really is a well-informed senior who recognized it. That’s right, this seemingly ordinary lump of rock is exactly what all worlds looked like at the very beginning—a Starry Core!"

There was a stir in the stands.

No one who could appear here was a novice, so naturally they all knew what a Starry Core was.

Just as the old man said, every world looked like this at the very beginning.

To put it bluntly, it is actually just a large boulder formed by dust in the Void accumulating and condensing.

But if that were all there was to it, how could it possibly appear at the Hundred Benevolence Store’s auction?

As expected.

The old man continued, "I’m sure everyone knows that Starry Cores are born by carrying the qi of world-creation, so they all contain powerful opportunities and are rare treasures for any Cultivator!"

"This Starry Core is naturally no exception. Moreover, it was found by our Hundred Benevolence Store deep in the Void. When we discovered it, the fortune it contained was so great that tiny life had already begun to gestate upon it!"

A low commotion rippled through the stands.

The environment within the Void is extremely harsh; aside from Cultivators, few creatures can survive there. Yet this Starry Core, though still in its most primitive state, could already shelter minute life. That had to be called a miracle.

Thinking of this, many people’s gazes grew fiery.

The old man, a veteran who had presided over many auctions, could naturally see this, so he chuckled.

"This thing is endlessly marvelous; I won’t go into every detail. Since it’s appeared here today, we’ll see which fated one will obtain it. Now, I announce that the auction officially begins!"

The Hundred Benevolence Store’s auctions were unlike any others.

Because they set no reserve price.

They didn’t even use open outcry. Instead, each person wrote their bid on the number plate in their hand.

If no one bid higher than you, your price would show up in red.

If it remained that way after a waiting period of one minute, then you were considered to have successfully won the lot.

At that point, the price would be locked and displayed in gold.

If someone outbid you, however, your price would turn green.

A green-status price could still be adjusted upward.

Of course, there was a condition: for each lot, each person could only adjust their price three times.

This tested everyone’s judgment and their grasp of market conditions.

After all, when facing a coveted lot, who wouldn’t want to pocket it?

Especially with those precious cultivation resources—miss this chance and there might not be another.

In such circumstances, everyone had to rack their brains, guessing others’ bids, studying the market, in order to win the lot at as reasonable a price as possible.

As for why the Hundred Benevolence Store adopted such complicated bidding rules, they had never offered an explanation, but people had many speculations.

For instance, that this method maximized their ability to protect prices and prevented situations where gold was sold at iron prices.

After all, in the vast cosmos, there are countless treasures; even if the Hundred Benevolence Store exhausted a lifetime of effort, they could not possibly recognize them all.

If some unknown treasure appeared, how to set the reserve price would become a very important question.

This seemingly complicated bidding method could avoid such situations, while also squeezing out maximum profit.

Because to safely secure their desired lot, people would raise their bids to the highest they were willing to pay, thus ensuring their chances.

In doing so, that portion of the price effectively became a contribution to the Hundred Benevolence Store.

Of course, all this was just speculation by outsiders; as for the real reason, no one knew.

This was not the time to ponder such matters anyway, for the appearance of this Starry Core had immediately drawn interest from all sides.

In order to pocket this treasure, many people, faces grave, were scribbling away on the number plates in their hands.

Those not interested in competing were also guessing whose hands this lot would eventually fall into.

"I think it’ll be Number Thirty-Seven!"

"Number Twenty-Five didn’t manage to buy what he wanted last time. Just watch, this time he’s sure to make a move!"

The crowd was abuzz with heated discussion.

Although the supreme rule of the Netherworld Ghost Market was to conceal one’s true identity, in order to cultivate regular clientele, the Hundred Benevolence Store had specially prepared fixed number plates for those big shots who spent lavishly.

So those who often came to the Netherworld Ghost Market would discuss the outcome using these numbers.

Just then, there was a thump of the gavel, and the old man laughed heartily. "Congratulations to Number Twenty-Five for successfully winning this lot!"

As his words fell, a beam of golden light wrapped around the Starry Core on the ground and flew toward a certain direction on the stands.

Xue An followed the golden light with his gaze and saw it land in the hand of a figure radiating a powerful aura.

Though the man’s head and face were veiled in mist, the deep, mountain-like presence he exuded could not be concealed.

One look and it was clear this was a man long accustomed to sitting above others and issuing commands—a great figure.

"It really is the Twenty-Five big shot!"

"I told you it’d be him!"

The crowd broke into another round of chatter.

Number Twenty-Five nodded toward the old man on stage, then sat back down to await the next lot.

Xue An also withdrew his gaze and softly asked Shu Jingchu, who was standing behind him,

"Isn’t the Netherworld Ghost Market supposed to forbid bringing in items from the outside world? Then what was that golden light just now?"

"That is indeed the rule. But the Netherworld Ghost Market has an even more important rule: equivalent exchange. As long as you’re willing to pay a higher price, items from the outside world can also be brought in. It’s just that what’s brought in is not a physical object, but a stream of information!"

"Like what you mentioned earlier about registration?"

"Somewhat similar, but also different. Registration means recording the characteristics of an item you own and loading them into the Netherworld Ghost Market. Aside from being displayed, it can’t be traded in real time—basically like taking a picture and uploading it!"

"Whereas this information stream is literally turning the item itself into a data stream, which can be traded online!"

"Then once the transaction is done, how do you get the item when you return to the real world?"

"That’s where the Netherworld Ghost Market is most formidable. No matter what you buy, no matter how valuable it is, on the second day after your purchase, the item will miraculously appear before you, the whole process guaranteed intact and honest to a fault!"

"So I call it... SF Express!"