Chapter 1289 Ji Ming
Late Jindan cultivators are the focus of attention no matter where they are. After seeing Qingyang, the people at the auction did not dare to neglect him. A woman took the initiative to greet him. The woman looked very young and pretty. She was only at the early stage of Qi Refining, but she looked a bit smart. She should be responsible for receiving and serving high-level cultivators.
The woman came to Qingyang and bowed respectfully, then said: "My daughter Ji Ming greets you, senior. Are you here to participate in the latest auction?"
"That's right!" Qingyang nodded.
After hearing Qingyang's confirmation, the woman Ji Ming pointed forward and said, "Senior, please follow me."
Then the woman Ji Ming led Qingyang into the auction. After entering the gate, the two came to a registration place first. Ji Ming helped Qingyang to register while saying, "Excuse me, senior. According to the requirements of the auction, in order to ensure that the auctioned items can be traded smoothly, all cultivators participating in the auction need to pay a deposit of 3,000 Nether Stones. You see..."
Qingyang understood what the other party meant. The deposit was collected to prevent some people from maliciously competing and bidding for things at a high price but not wanting them in the end. 3,000 Nether Stones are not too much for high-level cultivators, but for cultivators in the foundation-building period and below, it is a huge fortune, so this is also an auction with a threshold, not everyone can participate.
After Qingyang took out 3,000 Nether Stones and handed them to the person in charge of registration, Ji Ming received a sign from the person in charge of registration, and then the two continued to walk in. Before, Qingyang didn't feel it clearly outside, and only after entering did he realize that this auction was really big.
The entire auction venue covers at least hundreds of acres, and the height is more than ten feet. On one side is a huge platform, where the auction is conducted. Behind it are rows of seats, each seat is about ten feet apart, and there is a simple isolation between them. You can only vaguely see figures around, but you can't see who they are, and you can't hear people talking elsewhere.
The auction venue also has a second floor, which is suspended in the middle, revealing the auction platform below. The three walls are VIP rooms, and the front is connected by a corridor. The setting of these rooms is much more luxurious than the temporary seats below. There are tables, chairs, beds, and spiritual teas and incense. There are also restrictions outside to isolate the mind and prying eyes. Just sitting in the room, you can see the auction platform below, with a wide field of vision, which does not affect the participation in the auction at all.
Of course, the positions on the second floor are also divided into good and bad. The position facing the auction platform is the best, which is generally reserved for important figures and Yuanying cultivators in Chujiang City. The closer to the middle, the higher the status. Jindan late-stage cultivators with no background like Qingyang can only be assigned to the rooms on both sides of the second floor. As for Jindan middle-stage and below cultivators, they don’t even have the qualifications to go upstairs.
Ji Ming and Qingyang came to the second floor together, and then led Qingyang to the corresponding room according to the number on the sign in his hand. After that, Ji Ming did not leave, but stayed in the room. Before the end of this auction, her only task was to serve Qingyang well.
There are many women like her in the auction. They are attached to the auction and serve the guests who participate in the auction. They are usually not paid and rely entirely on customers’ tips to make a living.
These maids have a very low status and almost no dignity. If they meet a good customer, it's fine. If they meet a difficult one, not only will they not be paid, but they will also be beaten, scolded, insulted, and even have to sell their bodies. In the end, half of the pitifully low reward they get has to be given to the auction because the auction provides a platform. Otherwise, there is no chance to earn spirit stones.
Qingyang also started from the bottom and practiced little by little. He knew how difficult it was for low-level cultivators to practice. It was better for those who could find a sect as a backer. Those low-level casual cultivators rarely had ways to earn spirit stones. They often had to risk their lives for a piece of spirit stone or a pill. Male casual cultivators relied on hard labor and selling their lives, while female casual cultivators relied on selling their bodies or finding a good Taoist partner. However, very few of them could finally make it. There were too many such people, and Qingyang couldn't pity them all.
Qingyang is a gentleman, so he will not do things like beating, scolding, insulting, or asking the other party to sell their body. Of course, he will not treat her specially because he sympathizes with her. Ji Ming has adapted to this kind of life. If Qingyang is too polite, it will scare the other party. If he feels that the other party's service is good, at most he will reward a few more spiritual stones when leaving.
Before the auction started, Qingyang sat in the room with his eyes closed. Ji Ming stood quietly at the door, not daring to disturb Qingyang. The atmosphere in the room was a little dull, but Ji Ming seemed to feel that Qingyang was not a difficult person to serve, so it was not that difficult.
As time went by, more and more people came to participate in the auction. In less than two hours, the vacancies below were less than 10%, of which about half were Jindan early and middle stage cultivators, and the rest were all foundation building middle and late stage cultivators. There was no one with a lower cultivation level.
When Qingyang passed by those seats before, he specially counted them. There were at least three thousand seats below. Together with the rooms on the second floor, there were nearly two thousand Jindan cultivators participating in this auction alone. This showed how great the influence of this auction was.
Qingyang had inquired about it before. Behind this auction was the mayor of Chujiang City. He not only had a profound background, but also a strong background. No one in the entire Chujiang City dared to provoke him, and no one dared to make trouble here. The auction was held twice a year, and the business was very prosperous. Chujiang City's influence spread over hundreds of thousands of miles around. Those who came here to participate in the auction were not only Chujiang City cultivators, but also sects and independent cultivators in the surrounding radiation range. Two thousand Jindan cultivators at a time did not seem to be too many.
At this time, a group of people suddenly walked in from outside the auction. Because of the loud noise caused by their entry, Qingyang could not help but open his eyes. Walking in front was a red-haired old man, walking with the wind, holding his head high, and walking with extraordinary momentum. Behind him followed several Jindan cultivators. One of them, Qingyang knew, was the goatee who had told him about the auction of the refining quota before. Seeing him following closely behind, could it be that the old man in front was Chiye Zhenjun?
Sure enough, Ji Ming, who was standing next to him, saw that Qingyang seemed very interested in the person outside, so he took the initiative to introduce: "Senior, the person who just came in is the famous Chiye Zhenjun of Chujiang City. This person's weapon refining skills are extremely advanced. Even the city lord has to come to him in person to ask for help in refining weapons."
"I heard that there is a quota for Chiye Zhenjun's weapon refining to be auctioned this time?" Qingyang asked.