"First, you barged into my realm uninvited, acted arrogant, killed my sub-servants, and expect compensation? I must say, kid, you got guts. I will give you a second chance. How about a restart? Start by introducing yourself and explain why you are in my Jian family's sacred realm. Then perhaps, this Saint might find a reasonable punishment for you."
In the skies above the city, the ancient Jian master casually spoke as he unworriedly stared at Patrick. He maintained his calm demeanor with his hands behind him as he awaited Patrick's response. The bored Immortal hovered next to the Jian master as he scrutinizingly stared and analyzed Patrick's group, from fairy Marine to Patrick. His frown intensified by the second as he probed at the hovering six beings.
Patrick sat unimpressed as he stared down at the Jian old man. Steadily rising from his seat, Patrick stood mid-air and slowly began descending towards the two old men. But simultaneously with his descent, he began speaking.
"Let's get one thing straight, old man; I am the one doing the questioning. And right now, your sacred realm is starting to reek of boredom; I suggest you begin the auction."
Patrick finished speaking as he stopped a distance away from the heads of the two powerful old men. He hovered hands-free with his shoulder-long silver hair steadily fluttering behind him. The Jian master stared at Patrick as he noticed something; he couldn't detect anything from Patrick, be it his cultivation base or even comprehend his presence, which left him speechless.
"...!-"
But then, the Bored Immortal, hovering next to the Jian master, slightly drifted forward as he spoke, looking at Patrick.
"You know, every organism, living or dead, whether a human, demon, beast, angel, or even a god, has three significant existing factors, life or spirit presence, blood essence, and Qi. But among the six of you, I can only faintly detect a soul essence from the woman there. Who, from her body constitution, I'm assuming she's a Fairy from the Salvia planet. But my question is, what are you? I can see you, yet I can't sense any existing factor from you; it's like you are everywhere and nowhere at once."
Patrick, hearing the 'Bored Immortal's words, casually looked at him for a second as he shifted his gaze back to the Jian master, completely ignoring the Bored Immortal. (Bear in mind Patrick's expression is constantly the same; unimpressed and impassive)
"...! Old man, time may not be my problem, but my patience is running out."
Patrick impassively spoke, looking at the Jian master while disregarding the Bored Immortal. The Jian master reacted subtly as he tightly clenched his fists behind his back while maintaining a calm and unreactive expression. But unlike the Jian master, the Bored Immortal, who had a bored-to-death face since his introduction, now had a wide maniacal yet smiling expression as he tensely clenched his fists while staring at Patrick. His previous bored countenance was now completely gone.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Ha, ha-ha, hahaha! I can feel it now, that sensation of boredom slowly flushing away! It's been quite a while since I've had someone bold enough to disrespect me, the Overlord of the West. I like your guts, kid. Brother Jian, throw in another favor and ignore everything that has happened, will you; I will take full responsibility."
Looking at the change of expression from maniacal to friendly on the Bored Immortal's face, the Jian master expressed suspiciously, but suddenly understanding what the Bored Immortal meant by taking full responsibility, the Jian master heaved a sigh as he looked at Patrick, speaking after.
"You must be quite lucky, kid; even the heavens are granting you opportunities when at death's door. Since the Overlord of the West has intervened, I might as well treat you as his valuable guest. Very well, let's change the venue, shall we?"
The Jian master spoke as he now thought of Patrick as the Bored Immortal's disciple. He completely ignored Patrick's previous overbearing actions and now viewed him as a guest instead of an enemy. Finished speaking with 'shall we,' the Jian master raised his left palm as the scene where they floated in the sky changed to a magnificently designed and spacious room. Then, the space enlarged as it engulfed everyone hovering in the sky, including Patrick, his wives, Fairy Marine, Raleigh, the Bored Immortal, and the Jian master.
After witnessing the previous shocking scene of an Overlord, a Saint, and an unknown silver-haired man, casually interacting, the guest cultivators and citizens of the Sword Saint City all expressed shocked expressions as some couldn't help but leave their mouths agape. Still, some individuals and parties kept their composures and had less reactive faces, unlike the majority. One of these unreactive parties was Lian Zu, who had been carefully and scrutinizingly staring at the scene since the beginning.
'The Overlord of the west is the famous Bored Immortal? No wonder it was hard figuring out his identity despite meeting him countless times in my past life. Now I understand; if the bored Immortal is here, it must be because of the Desolate Realm reopening. Does he know about 'that item'? That's impossible; not even the Immortal Gate could have known about it. Sigh~ I'm probably overthinking it.
Nevertheless, my plans aren't disrupted much, but I must now account for an unknown and unexpected variable; that silver-haired kid. With my current strength, I won't even come close to competing with the Bored Immortal, the Jian family, or that tall red-haired man, but even if I can't win, my escape is at least assured.'
Lian Zu internally thought as he analyzed his plans. Some of the other cultivators also thought as some began regrouping and strategizing. But then, the green-armored man who was previously collecting entrance fees bellowed.
"Listen up; the auction will now be held in the next hour; please provide your names and payments."
___
In the previously mentioned secretive and dark spacious hall beneath the Sword Saint City, where the Bored Immortal and the Jian master had previously interacted, there stood the five gigantic human statues with each holding a sword by the hilts with both hands, and the swords plunged deep into the earth. Suddenly, a heavy and serious voice tone of an old man echoed within the hall, causing a slight space tremble.
"I sense danger. That kid seems to have noticed us but still ignores our presence. I'm feeling too uneasy to ignore him and his group; we should be prepared just in case he means any ill will to our legacy."
"I agree. But you guys should know that us exposing ourselves will draw the attention of the other major powers, especially the Immortal Gate. We may be in their so-called peace treaty, but if they notice them losing control, they might attack us with the pretext of protecting the Immortal Realm."
"Then, let's hope the kid isn't trouble; the Immortal Gate is already enough trouble."
___
Further into the Sword Saint City, there stood the massive coliseum. The interior of the coliseum had a classic design. There were five stages of seats in a circular design around a wide bidding platform. The low-rank bidding seats were those closest to the bidding platform, and the high-ranking bidding seats were completely different; the high-rank bidding areas were floating chambers with personal servants and services. This only shows how vast of a difference the wealth is between cultivators.
Occupying one of the stage-five chambers were Gong Tieshan, his arrived group, and Jian Mun; both men sat at the front with serious faces, with Gong Tieshan's group sitting behind them.
"Brother Tieshan, do you happen to know those people? Since they appeared, your attitude has changed completely. Could it be that they have something to do with what happened with elder uncle?"
One of the female cultivators in Gong Tieshan's group asked with concern. But slightly turning his head sideways, Gong Tieshan spoke.
"I don't know. But the silver-haired kid and red-haired man were his targets when he left the Countless Myriad Domain. And after seeing how that red-haired man was able to kill tens of peak-Star Celestials with ease, it's safe to say they are the culprits."
The lower stage bidding seats became crowded as the massive hall of cultivators awaited the auction's beginning. And as expected, the next moment, an exceptionally pretty woman appeared on the bidding platform, causing most of the men in the crowd to marvel at her beauty; the woman wore a long, short-sleeved green dress. The woman then began speaking.
"Welcome! Welcome to the Ancient Jian family Sacred Realm! I am Li Hui, and I will be your host. As usual, we will start with the low-graded items, then slowly advance to high-ranking artifacts. Please remain calm as you bid for items. Also, if someone outbids you, please refrain from being violent or bidding for items you can't afford, as it may cost you dearly.
Very well, the bidding rule is after a declared price; biddings will be in hundreds or more. With that, we can now begin the auction. The first item is a 'Flesh healing Grass,' a rare item commonly known for its healing properties; the starting price is 50 law spirit stones."
With the woman finishing her sentence, the crowd burst into a bidding competition as a cultivator instantly shouted.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"150 law spirit stones!" "200!" "350!" "400!" "800!" "2000 law spirit stones!"
Not long after the battle of shout-bidding, a person stood from among the crowd as he screamed two thousand law spirit stones for the flesh healing grass. Some cultivators turned to see who would spend such an amount on a mere flesh-healing grass when they could heal using internal Qi. Looking at the man who bid such an amount on the item; some cultivators laughed as they mocked the man; this man was none other than Lian Zu, who is now being viewed as a stupid spendthrift.
'Good, with this poor reputation, it won't appear suspicious when it's time to buy that item.'
Lian Zu thought as the current event was all part of his plan. I was creating a less suspicious environment around him.
Up within a stage-five bidding chamber, Patrick sat on his sun-like throne as he stared at the scene of Lian Zu buying the grass. Beside Patrick's right were Athena and Thalia, and on his left was Anastasia. Raleigh stood behind Patrick, with Fairy Marine sitting not far behind Patrick.
'Grace, timer for the Gong Family?'
[00:09:45:00]
'Nine hours, that's enough for them to prepare, although it would be futile.'
"Master, from the previous conversation with Jian Jui and the Overlord, it seems the Overlord intends to make you his disciple."
'Grace, acknowledging something makes it important; let the clowns do their show; all we have to do is watch.'
"Master's wisdom truly knows no bounds."
'Grace, let's have fun.'
Patrick interacted with Grace as he completely ignored the Bored Immortal and Jian Jui's previous conversation. A second later, Patrick had an idea; he then spoke to the women, including Fairy Marine.
"Ladies, what do you say about fun-buying everything in this realm, including the realm itself?"