Where Have the Two Elders Gone

In the long run, the popularity of “Auction King” was destined to be short-lived.

However, its quick, three-to-five-minute rounds made it easy to become a casual pastime similar to the “Landlord” card game from Lu Ze’s previous life.

Lu Ze had set up this mode in a special way, allowing players to access it even while inside the Treasure-Hunting Mode maps.

Whenever some ratty players with bad spawn points found themselves in a disadvantageous position, they would just hide in a corner and play “Auction King.”

After three days of fermentation, the audience for “Auction King” had grown considerably.

As soon as this announcement was made, countless cultivators began to feel tempted.

Not just because the event would give away a limited-edition Red item,

but also because this was Lu Ze’s first time turning a phantom realm into a real-life secret realm—the novelty factor alone was off the charts.

The forum was buzzing with discussion.

【Damn, the Great Qian Dynasty is pretty far from me? Would I even make it in time if I set off now…】

【Doesn’t matter if you make it—this auction is only open to locals of the Great Qian Dynasty!】

【Damn it, so that means this limited-edition Red item is out of reach for sure?】

【Old Demon Lu still has a bit of a conscience—we can bid online on who wins the warehouse to earn points for redemption】

【The more I hear about this, the more it sounds like we’re gambling addicts…】

【Hahaha! This humble one happens to be a cultivator from the Great Qian Dynasty. With my skills, going there is basically picking up free money!】

【Pfft, they’re just ordinary people’s gold and silver treasures. So what if you pick them up?】

【You don’t get it, do you! The main point is to experience the atmosphere】

……

……

At Leisure Cloud Manor, in the Floating Pavilion.

“Oh? His secret realm is already done?”

【Heart Demon】stood by the window, a look of concern in his eyes.

These past few days, he had constantly felt that a hidden strongman from the direction of the Sunset Immortal Valley on the border of the Great Qian Dynasty seemed to have sensed his presence and was periodically probing this area.

Because of this, he had been hiding in the Floating Pavilion without going out, relying solely on several elders to relay information.

“That’s right. This secret realm took three full days—looks like this guy isn’t quite smooth on the path of secret realm creation.”

【Blood Crow】, who had come to report, couldn’t help but feel smug.

When it came to creating phantom realms, Lu Ze was faster than anyone else.

Even the elders at the Soul Refining Realm might not be able to outdo him.

But when it came to secret realms, the gap became obvious.

【Blood Crow】 became even more convinced that this time, he was sure to win.

“And the auction goods? How are they being handled?”

【Heart Demon】continued to ask.

“To report to the alliance leader, the warehouse is worth 170 million taels of gold in total. On the first day, the rarest items were sold for an impressive 85 million. Over the following days, I arranged for others to purchase some other goods… totaling 5 million.”

At this point, 【Blood Crow】’s smugness grew even more.

“In other words, even if that brat sells all the remaining goods, he can’t possibly beat us!”

The total value of the goods was 170 million. With 85 million sold on day one and another 5 million sold later for safety,

the remaining goods in the warehouse were, at most, worth around 80 million.

How could Lu Ze possibly beat him?

Unless he could sell the remaining goods at a premium.

And sell all of them, not a single one left behind.

But the warehouse was stuffed with worthless junk—pots, pans, every kind of item imaginable—who would buy them?

Let alone bid for them at a premium!

So, no matter how he looked at it, 【Blood Crow】felt victory was assured!

“That’s good then.”

Seeing that 【Blood Crow】 had handled things so properly, 【Heart Demon】finally felt at ease.

Standing at the window, he gazed down at the lakeshore of Leisure Cloud.

His eyes moved to the small pavilion where Chao Wendao and Nangong Yuan had once played chess, and his brows suddenly furrowed.

“Where did those two elders from Lingxiao Sect go?”

……

……

At Lu Ze’s residence in Leisure Cloud Manor.

“Junior Brother Lu, can’t you really let me in on the auction tomorrow to get a little thrill? I won’t even keep the goods I win, isn’t that enough?”

The thought of participating in a real-life “Auction King” made Zhong Yi’s hands itch with excitement. He looked like he would pay any price to make it happen.

“That’s not up to me. We have to follow their rules.”

Lu Ze looked at Zhong Yi cheerfully, curious to see if his senior brother’s “jinx-saint” physique would strike again in the secret realm.

“Those Phantom Alliance guys… ah, forget it. I’ll just get the limited Red item through the guesses tomorrow.”

Zhong Yi sighed in resignation, then asked curiously,

“By the way, where are my master and Elder Nangong? I haven’t seen them these past few days.”

Just as he finished speaking, a tired old man’s voice suddenly came from behind him.

“Looking for me and Elder Nangong?”

“Master, you—whoa!? Master? Elder Nangong? What happened to you two???”

Zhong Yi turned around and was startled.

Because Nangong Yuan and Chao Wendao both had heavy dark circles under their eyes, looking as if they had been drained dry.

“All for that wayward disciple…”

Nangong Yuan muttered with a scolding smile as he looked at Lu Ze.

“Within the Great Qian Dynasty, Elder Chao and I have done everything possible to let ordinary people enter the phantom realm. As for the exact number… well, it’s hard to count.”

“Probably around a hundred thousand. It’s acceptable. Thank you, master and Elder Chao, for your hard work.”

After checking the backend data, Lu Ze had a precise count. He respectfully clasped his hands towards the two elders.

Ordinary people cannot stimulate their divine sense to enter the phantom realm, but it’s not impossible.

With the help of cultivators, ordinary people can also enter the phantom realm for a taste.

These past few days, Chao Wendao and Nangong Yuan, following Lu Ze’s instructions, had secretly set up several phantom realm experience stations across the Great Qian Dynasty. These stations helped ordinary people without spiritual roots enter the phantom realm to experience “Auction King.”

With the wide range of their divine sense radiation and working nonstop day and night, even Nangong Yuan and Chao Wendao were struggling to keep up.

“Hmph, no need to thank me. It was just a small matter. If you hadn’t called me back, I could have kept going for another month or two with no problem!”

The ever-proud Chao Wendao puffed out his chest—only for blood to suddenly spurt from his nose. The scene was extremely awkward.

“Faithless disciple, no need to be so polite with Elder Chao and me… We Lingxiao Sect disciples can’t lose to those heretical scoundrels!”

Nangong Yuan patted Lu Ze on the shoulder, then cursed while helping Chao Wendao back to his room to rest.

“Junior Brother Lu, you want to… bring commoners into this?”

Zhong Yi immediately realized what Lu Ze was planning and looked utterly incredulous.

“That’s right.”

Lu Ze nodded.

If he wanted to replicate the phantom realm experience in real life, apart from the scenes and spells, the biggest problem was:

people.

There were only so many cultivators in the cultivation world. Even fewer were active in the Great Qian Dynasty.

Moreover, the items in the auction were mostly treasures from the perspective of ordinary people. Cultivators would look down on them even more.

So, for cultivators, this auction was only so-so in terms of appeal.

But for ordinary people, it was different.

Based on the data tracking he had run on these people, this approach had been quite successful.

Ordinary people who had never experienced phantom realm games became even more addicted than the cultivators.

Especially the idle wealthy playboys who usually had nothing better to do—they went all in more recklessly than anyone.

“Junior Brother Lu’s cleverness leaves the rest of us in the dust…”

Zhong Yi sighed with emotion.

To be targeted like this by the Illusion Alliance that made the rules—if it were him, he could not think of a way to break the deadlock at all.

Lu Ze not only came up with a solution, but executed it flawlessly on both the illusory and real planes.

Now that he understood the magic of “The King of Bidding,” Zhong Yi could already imagine how astonishing tomorrow would be.

“Tomorrow…”

“It is definitely going to be spectacular!”