Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 701 - 701 0446 - Otaku Auction_2

Chapter 701: Chapter 0446 – Otaku Auction_2 Chapter 701: Chapter 0446 – Otaku Auction_2 The house was not very large. The previous owner had only built a few simple rooms at the back of the courtyard for bedrooms, storage, and a Pill Room. Furthermore, there was a small medicinal field in one corner of the courtyard. It wasn’t very big—barely six or seven square meters. Qi Tian hadn’t made use of it before, not knowing what to plant. However, this time, he spent some time tidying up the medicinal field before planting a few of the medicinal seedlings he had collected. There were only about twenty, not many. As for whether these medicinal plants could grow, he did not harbor high hopes. He was not going to be a permanent resident here, so whether these medicinal plants could grow well would depend on their own luck.

After tidying up the medicinal field, Qi Tian prepared to leave for the Wanjie Commerce. He intended to purchase a few items here that could dramatically increase his combat power in an instant during a fight. He was now at the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment stage. Coupled with the increase in combat power brought about by the Heavenly Dao Engine, he could compete with the elites of the Gold Core Realm’s third level. The most typical cultivator at this level was Wu Shenglian. If it was a one-on-one battle, Qi Tian would not hesitate at all, having enough confidence to win.

However, the premise for this was that Wu Shenglian did not have any means to dramatically increase his combat power. If Wu Shenglian could increase her combat power to the fourth level of the Golden Core Realm through such means, Qi Tian would be in danger. At present, Qi Tian was most worried about this.

He originally thought that there weren’t many Gold Core cultivators in the Great Zhao Nation, but he encountered more than a dozen Gold Core cultivators in the Chi Di tribe, which was opposed to the Great Zhao Nation. He also came across some coming from other places in the Great Zhao Nation, and he met Wu Shenglian, a Gold Core cultivator he had never heard of before. This showed that the Cultivation World of the Great Zhao was indeed deep and mysterious, and if he, like before, believed that his current strength could dominate the Cultivation World of the Great Zhao, that would be quite an overestimation.

In order to prevent unexpected situations from arising, he found it necessary to prepare some preventive measures for himself.

Qi Tian first replaced the spirit stones embedded in the defense magic array he had previously set up in the house with new ones. Then, he activated the defense magic array and left the house, riding Hu Niu, straight to Wanjie Commerce.

It was not the first time Qi Tian had been to the Wanjie Commerce. He was about to enter when he saw a crowd of people in front of the public notice board outside Wanjie Commerce. With Qi Tian’s experience, the Wanjie Commerce must have been planning some big move again, and immediately he felt a bit curious. He got off Hu Niu’s back, put Hu Niu into the Spirit Beast Bracelet, and then walked towards the notice board.

The notice board had a new notice. It said that Wanjie Commerce would hold a special auction soon; the object of the auction would be residences in Wanjie City.

These were not ordinary residences but those suspected of being left behind by deceased masters. Among cultivators, many are absorbed in cultivation and live alone in the world with no relatives due to various reasons. There was no shortage of such cultivators in Wanjie City. Quite a few of them would buy properties in the city. Over time, they would inevitably die, either in battles outside or remain close to their homes due to failed cultivation breakthroughs and die unknowingly in their homes.

No matter how these cultivators died, their houses would not be inherited. Wanjie City could not let these houses lie idle, especially since there’s a constant deficit of houses compared to the population in the city. If a large number of residences were left vacant, the city would certainly become a ghost town. Therefore, Wanjie City has a rule that if a house has been uninhabited for more than fifty years, it would be assumed that the owner of the house is dead and Wanjie City has the right to reclaim the house. The reclaimed houses would then be auctioned off in their current state to the highest bidder, who not only gets the ownership of the house, but also the ownership of everything left by the former owner. If the former owner died in the house, the buyer is responsible for cleaning up the remains.

Such themed auctions, fondly referred to by the cultivators of Wanjie City as “dead house auctions,” were always handled by Wanjie Commerce. From the auction proceeds, a few Nascent Soul Masters of Wanjie City could take a share, and Wanjie Commerce took an service fee. The remaining funds were mainly used for public affairs such as repairs to the city’s walls and paving streets.

The dead house auctions have always been very eye-catching, but this year’s auction was particularly striking for two reasons. One, there were a lot of dead houses—more than three hundred in total. While this wasn’t the highest in history, it definitely made the top twenty. The second reason was that several of the dead houses particularly attracted attention, as the suspected deceased owners were all significant figures. One of them was a prominent cultivator at the peak of the Gold Core Stage who died during closed-door cultivation trying to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage. After fifty years passed without any news, his house was naturally declared a dead house and would be presented as a heavyweight item at the dead house auction a month later.

Looking at the introduction to the dead house auction posted on the notice board, Qi Tian marveled at the peculiarities of the cultivation world—odd happenings at every turn. To be honest, he was a little tempted. Take that dead house left by the Gold Core Stage Peak cultivator for instance, there would undoubtedly be countless treasures left inside. If it could be acquired and opened, the benefits would certainly be considerable. But even without thought, it was obvious that there would be many people eyeing this dead house, and the competition at the auction would inevitably be fierce. With Qi Tian’s current net worth, he stood little chance of acquiring it. Moreover, even if he were lucky enough to win it, he would have to live to keep it, as the Nascent Soul Masters of Wanjie City were no decorative clay Buddha statues.

Qi Tian noted down the date of the dead house auction in his mind, deciding to attend it if he had the time. He turned around and squeezed out of the crowd, preparing to go inside Wanjie Commerce, when suddenly someone called out to him. “Young friend, hold on.”

Qi Tian looked back and saw a familiar face—Wan Xiaolan, a Gold Core cultivator from Wanjie Commerce. Qi Tian had joined Wanjie Commerce’s team at one point, responding to their call to mine in a small world. At that time, Wan Xiaolan was one of the team leaders. During that operation, Qi Tian made a significant contribution, and as a reward, Wan Xiaolan introduced him, granting Qi Tian the qualification to purchase property in Wanjie City.

Qi Tian quickly saluted Wan Xiaolan, saying, “Good to see you, elder.”

Wan Xiaolan chuckled and said, “Long time no see, young friend. It seems we were meant to meet. I was planning to find you, but I didn’t expect to meet you here. It seems destiny wants you to help us.”

A chill ran down Qi Tian’s spine. Wan Xiaolan’s words carried hidden meanings. He knew firsthand from his last joint operation with Wanjie Commerce’s team that their so-called “help” often requires risking one’s life. He wanted to refuse, but he knew that offending a behemoth like Wanjie Commerce in Wanjie City would make life difficult. He answered with a smile, “If you could inform me of the nature of the job you need me for?”

Wan Xiaolan said, “Did you see the notice we posted at Wanjie Commerce?”

Qi Tian nodded and said, “Are you referring to the dead house auction? I have seen it.”

Wan Xiaolan said, “Indeed, it has something to do with the dead house auction.”