Chapter 61 The Crushing Strike of the Void Insects, the Black Seal Changes Hands

In front of the Black Seal Auction House, dozens of expressionless men stood guard.

Five of them were at the Dou Master level.

"A place like the Mittel Auction House wouldn't be willing to use five Dou Masters as guards," Gu He thought to himself with a faint smile as he walked toward the one with the highest cultivation.

"Take me to see your person in charge; I have business to conduct with him."

The status of a Sixth-Rank Alchemist was very useful at this moment.

"Y-You're a Sixth-Rank Alchemist?!" the man exclaimed in shock.

Gu He nodded indifferently.

No one would fake being an Alchemist unless they had a death wish.

The man immediately became attentive and acted as a guide, while a hint of envy appeared in the eyes of the other expressionless men.

...

After Gu He entered the auction house's reception hall, Steward Hu approached with a fawning expression.

"I presume Your Excellency is Pill King Gu He?"

Gu He nodded, his gaze sharp. "You aren't qualified to discuss the business I have; call your Sect Leader out."

Steward Hu's face stiffened, but he didn't dare to talk back.

"Very well, please wait a moment, Your Excellency!"

"No need..."

A calm voice suddenly echoed in the hall.

Steward Hu looked up.

A middle-aged man with a sturdy build sat in another primary seat, his Aura fully revealed.

"Sect Leader!" Steward Hu called out respectfully, looking at the man with slightly graying hair and beard.

"When the Empire's pill king visits, I, Yuan, must naturally greet him in person," Yuan Yi, City Lord said to Gu He with a smile on his face.

Steward Hu quickly took his leave, closing the door behind him.

"Our Black-Corner Region has a medicine emperor whom I've met twice, but this is the first time I've met you, Lord Gu!"

Yuan Yi, City Lord cupped his fists in a respectful manner.

"You truly are as heroic and extraordinary as they say, Lord!"

Gu He's lip twitched imperceptibly.

This damn smiling tiger.

Have you no shame?

Everyone knows you run a shady business, and you're the boss of it.

Gu He didn't waste words. "I'm here to do business this time."

"Please, go ahead."

"Your auction house recently acquired a tattered piece of cloth, right?"

Yuan Yi, City Lord frowned. "It seems there was such a thing."

Gu He said, "Two hundred thousand gold coins. I want that piece of cloth."

Yuan Yi, City Lord's frown deepened, and the oppressive pressure of his Aura almost leaked out.

A Sixth-Rank Alchemist came to the door just for a piece of scrap cloth?

Could this cloth hide some secret?

Impossible. If it really hid something valuable, the auction house's appraisers would have notified him long ago!

But now that Gu He was asking...

Yuan Yi, City Lord called Steward Hu back and instructed him to find a tattered, mysterious piece of cloth.

Before long, the manager brought the piece of cloth up.

Gu He picked up the cloth from the tray and looked at it for a while. After releasing his spiritual perception to confirm it was correct, he put it away.

Then, he tossed a storage ring to Yuan Yi, City Lord.

"The Sect Leader is an honest man. Here, there are two hundred thousand gold coins inside. Consider the storage ring a gift from me."

Gu He's words were pleasant to hear, as if he were reciting a hymn of praise.

Yuan Yi, City Lord tossed the ring; he didn't count the gold coins, as this amount of money meant nothing to him.

He hadn't tampered with the cloth; after all, Gu He's target was so precise that he surely had a way to distinguish the real from the fake. What he valued now was—

"I wonder what other business Lord Gu has for our Black Seal Auction House?"

Gu He's voice was light. "I have a seventh-rank Medicinal Pill for the auction house to sell."

Yuan Yi, City Lord was stunned.

"Seventh-rank?"

Gu He nodded. "It's the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill."

Yuan Yi, City Lord's face stiffened. How could there be such a coincidence in the world?

Just the day before yesterday, that person had also asked him to help sell a Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill, and the conditions were extremely strange...

However, he quickly regained his composure; after all, the older ginger is spicier.

"Certainly!"

"Lord Gu, you can leave it to us!"

Gu He reached into the sleeve of his white robe as if to pull out a Medicinal Pill. A hint of covetous desire appeared in Yuan Yi, City Lord's eyes.

If only... he could swindle more Medicinal Pills out of this pill king!

However, in the next moment, a flash of purple light erupted!

"Yama's Roll Call!"

It could summon creatures from the mysterious Void Realm to assist the user, growing stronger as the user's power increased!

A massive blue beetle, three zhang tall, appeared out of thin air!

The seven-meter-high hall of the auction house was instantly punctured!

Amidst the purple mist, its wings vibrated at a high frequency, creating a roar no less intense than a small tsunami!

As rubble and bricks fell, Yuan Yi, City Lord snapped back to his senses and found that Gu He had somehow distanced himself, standing dozens of meters away. He held a black umbrella, and a Dou Qi protective shield tightly enveloped him.

Yuan Yi, City Lord was shocked and quickly manifested his Dou Qi Wings.

Is this Gu He crazy?!

What... kind of ancient Demonic Beast is this? Does he want to destroy his auction house?!

What grudge or enmity do they have?

"Gu He! If you oppose our Eight Gates, you are opposing the entire Black-Corner Region!"

Gu He laughed out of anger. "Does the Black-Corner Region belong to your family?"

"Everyone knows your auction house is a place that devours people's bones and skins!"

In the chaotic Black-Corner Region, there are no human rights or rules.

If an Alchemist with some Aptitude went to the Black Seal Auction House to sell Medicinal Pills, as long as that talent couldn't be recruited, they would send thugs to destroy them.

They didn't even keep their word on items sold, secretly sending people to snatch them back.

Black Seal? It's more like a Black Shop!

Bang!

The giant beetle raised more than ten blue tentacles, twisting them together to form a whip that lashed out at Yuan Yi, City Lord.

Yuan Yi, City Lord's eyes narrowed as his powerful Dou Qi surged out like an explosion, forcing him to turn his attention back to the giant bug before him.

He summoned his weapon, attempting to block.

Sizzle—

Unexpectedly,

the seemingly powerful tentacles shattered with ease.

Countless sprays of fishy-smelling black venom blossomed like dahlias, piercing straight through Yuan Yi, City Lord's Dou Qi defense and seeping into his inner garment.

Meanwhile, in the distance, Gu He listened to the sounds of Yun Shan and the others fighting the lackeys outside and checked the duration of the summoned creature.

Hmm, three minutes for the summon duration; that's too long.

He looked at Yuan Yi, City Lord; the burly man's face was already covered in black blood vessels, as if vines had overgrown his face, parasitically sucking his blood.

Thud—

A Dou Huang level expert, one of the top ten experts on the Black-Corner Region's Black Ranking, crashed to the ground.

Gu He calmly retracted his umbrella, which he'd used to look cool. With a thought, he ended the summon and sent the giant bug back to the mysterious Void Realm.

Then, he unhurriedly walked to Yuan Yi, City Lord's corpse. Releasing his Dou Qi, he plucked the five storage rings from Yuan Yi, City Lord's fingers out of thin air, as well as the one he had just given him.

Six beautiful rings were arranged neatly on a Dou Qi tray, slowly rising before Gu He's eyes.

Gu He flicked his sleeves and put the items into his storage ring.

"You need to be alive to spend your money, understood?" he said softly.

Then, he slowly walked out of the hall.

Outside the reception hall, the bystanders had been herded into corners, crouching with their hands over their heads in fear. The large screen displaying auction items continued to scroll in an orderly fashion, silently witnessing this moment.

Meanwhile, the people of the Eight Gates and their watchdogs lay fallen on the auction house's exquisitely crafted carpet.

Some were frozen into ice sculptures.

Some were crushed into flat pancakes.

Some were covered in tears, snot, and the stench of urine.

Gu He glanced at the traces of battle and looked at Yun Shan with a smile. "Elder Yun's moves are just as they were back then—quick, decisive, and awe-inspiring."

Yun Shan felt a bit intoxicated by the flattery and looked at Hai Bodong bashfully. "Elder Hai isn't bad either!"

"I haven't seen you in twenty years, yet you're still so full of vigor!"

Hai Bodong chuckled with a hint of cunning. "With Gu He's help, I've already recovered my former strength! It feels refreshing! Truly refreshing!"

"Next, it's time for our Mittel to take over this place!"

Following that, Hai Bodong delivered an impassioned speech, his voice carrying far and wide, covering the entire auction house.

He announced the change in sovereignty.

...