The Portal of Wonderland

The beautiful woman came into a living room after some time. Some people were already seated in that room.

A golden-haired young man with blue eyes, a black-robed old man with long eyebrows, and a dignified middle-aged man who held a folding fan in his hand were among them. They all heard the sound of footsteps, and looked in that direction one after another.

“The three of you, I’m sorry for the delay. My hands are full with too many things with these days. It’s very disrespectful that this humble woman had kept you three waiting,” the beautiful woman walked in, and said in an apologetic manner.

“Haha, Elder Zhao seems quite occupied nowadays. By the way, it’s no big deal if the three of us waited you for some time,” the dignified middle-aged man’s words were accompanied by a laugh.

“President Zong is very modest. The business of the Black Spirit Association in the Rising Sun City seems to be soaring at its zenith. Who in the entire Rising Sun City doesn’t know this?” the beautiful woman said with a smile.

The Black Spirit Association had a large-scale chamber of commerce set up in the Rising Sun City. It would deal in the business of ore here. It had been established by the collaboration of several medium-sized barbarian tribes. It couldn’t be compared with the Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce in any aspect. However, it was still ranked among the top ten chambers of commerce in the Rising Sun City.

The golden-haired young man was one of the Elders of the Spirit Eagle Tribe. This tribe commanded great power. In fact, his status couldn’t be considered below Linghu Kuan. As for the black-robed old man with long eyebrows… he belonged to another powerful barbarian tribe that resided near the Rising Sun City. And, he was the Chief of the Blue Feather Tribe.

“Elder Zhao, this is a very special period. So, we don’t want to take more time in formal greeting. Let’s get straight to the point. The auction is about to begin. The three of us have come over here with some goods in response to your invitation. And, we want to entrust them to you for this auction. This is the detailed list of those goods. Elder Zhao, please take a look at it,” the golden-haired young man said. Simultaneously, he took out a jade slip.

The black-robed old man and the dignified middle-aged man also took out their respective jade slips and handed them to her.

The beautiful woman’s face beamed with elation.

“Thank you so much for placing trust in this humble woman. You all rest assured. This humble woman will exert all of her strength to make sure that your entrusted goods get sold at the highest bid price.” the beautiful woman said.

“We naturally believe in Elder Zhao. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have come here,” the dignified middle-aged man replied with a smile.

The dignified middle-aged and the other gentlemen left the Jade Spirit Pavilion after half-an-hour.

After that, the beautiful woman held the three jade slips, and an excited smile bloomed across her face.

She took a long and deep breath. She then clapped her hands, and a green-dressed man walked in.

“Transmit an order that another auction will be conducted tomorrow. Important matters will be announced after the meeting,” she said.

The green-robed man complied, and retired.

She then arrived by the side of the window, and gazed in the eastern direction of the city… A faint smile played at the corners of her mouth.

…

The east of the city… the Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion.

Frequent movement of people could be seen here. And, the stream of people couldn’t be considered shallow either. However, it was still poles apart if it was compared with the bustling scene of the Jade Spirit Pavilion.

Zhong Xiu stood in a certain room on the third floor of this Pavilion. Her beautiful eyebrows slightly creased at this moment. The white-haired old man — Manager Ge — stood in front of her; he was telling her something in a low voice.

“Elder Gu Shan of the Spirit Eagle Tribe, Chief of the Blue Feather Tribe, and President Zong of the Black Spirit Association… Manager Ge, have you done a proper enquiry in this regard?” Zhong Xiu asked.

“Yes, my subordinates have dispatched two groups of people to confirm this news. The three of them did go to the Jade Spirit Pavilion an hour before. And, they departed nearly half-an-hour ago. I’m afraid that the purpose of their visit should be to entrust goods for the auction,” Manager Ge confirmed.

“Well, I already knew about this matter. You go down first.” Zhong Xiu said.

Manager Ge complied, and walked towards the door.

However, he glanced towards the inside room before he stepped out of the room.

He saw that Shi Mu sat behind a square table there. He had bent over that table, and was drawing something.

Manager Ge glanced at him once. Then, he retracted his gaze, and walked out of the room.

Zhong Xiu closed the door, and let out a soft sigh.

Meanwhile, Shi Mu had stopped his magic brush. Suddenly, a ray of light flashed on the water-blue-colored magic charm that was in front of him, and then it dissipated.

This was a middle-ranked water attribute magic charm – Cold Frost Charm.

A trace of a smile emerged on Shi Mu’s face as he saw this. He examined the magic charm a bit, and then nodded with satisfaction. He then put it aside. After that, he stood up, and stretched his muscles a bit.

A thick stack of magic charms was already placed on the side table. There were apparently dozens of them, and all of them were middle-ranked magic charms.

“Miss Xiu, don’t worry. You do know that the Jade Spirit Pavilion has more goods in their stock than here. Even the quality of their goods is better than those of the goods here. So, it’s natural that their popularity would also be far better,” Shi Mu walked out of the inside room, and held Zhong Xiu’s hand as he said.

“The Jade Spirit Pavilion has formed an alliance with another three influential parties. This alliance must have uplifted their fame and strength even further. The auction will officially mark its commencement in another half month or so. I’m worried…” Zhong Xiu said in a soft voice.

“Miss Xiu, Elder Zhao’s network of connections is very profound and far better than ours. We can’t compete with her in this area. However, I’m almost ready here.” Shi Mu said.

Zhong Xiu looked at Shi Mu, and felt a surge of peace in her heart.

“We don’t have much time left for the auction. So, this is the time for us to counterattack.” Shi Mu said.

…

On the first floor of the Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion… a number of rooms were opened on both sides of the aisle of the auction venue. All these rooms had been converted into well-equipped small-sized shops. And, some precious things were arranged in these shops.

Several visitors would stroll around these small shops from the beginning to the end of the auction.

A black-faced barbarian man halted in front of a small shop at this time; he was a Hou Tian warrior. His eyes drew towards a fiery-red-colored magic charm that was placed somewhere on the shelf in that shop. The waves of magic power it was exuding didn’t seem weak. It was a middle-ranked fire attribute magic charm — Fire Spear Charm.

The black-faced barbarian was struck dumb for a moment. The supply of magic charms was very scarce on the Western Continent. It was usually very rare to see a magic charm in large shops. And, the ones that were there were sold at a considerably high price.

He cast a glance at the marked-price on its surface, and found that it wasn’t expensive at all.

“I want this magic charm!” the black-faced barbarian immediately addressed a young man who was guarding the shop.

“Okay. Your Excellency, please wait a moment.” The young shopkeeper smiled, and took down the magic charm on the wooden frame. Then, he handed it to the black-faced barbarian.

The black-faced barbarian paid him the spirit stones, and then his face beamed with a gleam of excitement.

The fact was that he didn’t have many spirit stones. And, a small-scale auction was scheduled to be held in the afternoon. He knew that he might not be able to make a bid for any good thing due to insufficient number of spirit stones. However, he was at least able to buy this middle-ranked magic charm. So, he could say that it had been a worthwhile trip for him.

A middle-ranked magic charm was perhaps nothing in front of a Xian Tian-ranked powerhouse. However, it could be viewed as the most valuable treasure for this barbarian man since he was a Hou Tian-ranked warrior. He would surely have a lot more confidence than before while doing anything… whether it was to accompany people to some remote mountains for hunting demon beasts, or to participate in the tribal competitions.

“Brother, why are you so excited? Don’t tell me that you’ve bought some very good stuff!” Some similarly dressed barbarian men walked over to the black-faced barbarian man.

“It’s nothing. I’ve just found a fairly good thing,” the black-faced barbarian averted his eyes, and didn’t tell them the truth.

After all, it wouldn’t be good for him if such a valuable treasure came to the knowledge of so many people.

Those people exchanged glances with each other a few times… as if they didn’t believe his words.

Meanwhile, the young shopkeeper of that small shop again took out a middle-ranked fire-attribute magic charm from somewhere, and placed it on the shelf.

“A middle-ranked magic charm!”

One of these people was a Hou Tian advanced stage warrior. He showed the quickest response at this time. He caught sight of the magic charm that had just been placed on the shelf, and exclaimed.

These people looked at the marked-price of the magic charm almost at the same time, and then looked at each other. Then, they rushed to the counter of the shop like a swarm of bees, and started to vie for that magic charm.

Their quarrel immediately attracted the attention of the surrounding people, and they also swarmed around the shop.

“Here’s a middle-ranked magic charm… It’s a wind-attribute hurricane magic charm!” Some people found a magic charm on the shelf of another shop.

“There’s also one!” Someone again found a magic charm in another shop. And, the price of that charm was also not high.

All magic charms were bought by these people in no time.

On the other side, the shopkeepers of these small shops would immediately put another magic charm on display every time a magic charm was purchased.

However, the shopkeepers would stop taking out more magic charms when a total of five magic charms had been sold by their shop.

“Everyone, the auction has received the support of a proficient charm magician of late. We are indebted to this great master for the supply of so many magic charms. However, the number is still limited. Each store can supply only five charms every day. And, that is also subject to availability,” a shopkeeper announced to the surrounding people after he had sold all five magic charms.

His announcement sparked off a discussion among these people. There were many people who couldn’t snatch away any magic charm. They secretly made a firm resolve that they would rush over here a bit earlier tomorrow. Then, they would be able to grab a middle-ranked magic charm for sure.

“Drawing a middle-ranked magic charm is just a piece of cake for the great master. There will be a large number of high-ranked magic charms at the auction that will be conducted at the end of the month. And, all of them will be made by the master personally,” the shopkeeper said.

“How many will be there?” someone asked.

“This is temporarily confidential. However, it is said that the master has started the preparation since a long time ago,” the shopkeeper said.

This statement triggered a tumultuous situation in the crowd.

A high-ranked magic charm was definitely a rare thing in the Western Continent. The power it would display was formidable enough to threaten even an Earth-ranked powerhouse. Its value to the Xian Tian-ranked warrior was the same as that of a middle-ranked magic charm to a Hou Tian warrior. It was regarded as a very precious and life-saving thing.

These magic charms could substantially enhance the overall strength and heritage of people if they were to be supplied in a large quantity.

Some of the Xian Tian warriors and Star-ranked magicians in the crowd didn’t feel anything when they saw these middle-ranked magic charms. However, a hint of excitement finally surfaced in their eyes at this very moment.

“In addition, a small number of high-ranked magic charms will often be displayed at the following small-scale auctions. You all are welcome,” the shopkeeper said in a loud voice.

The surrounding crowd heard these words, and again started a discussion. Everyone looked quite excited at the moment. But, there were also many people in the crowd whose facial expressions changed. And, they left the venue right away… It seemed as if they had rushed to inform someone.

The shopkeeper saw this scene, and a smile spread across his face in response.

The Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion had a large number of middle-ranked magic charms. And, high-ranked magic charms would appear soon at the auction. This news spread everywhere at lightning speed.

Many influential people of the city became restless to do something as this news reached their ears.

It was seen that Earth-ranked powerhouses and people below their rank had a great attraction for the high-ranked magic charms.

The Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion also began to send invitations to many influential people in the city at the right moment. And, they all were invited for the auction that would be held at the end of the month. But, the people who received their invitations said that they would send people to attend the auction.

In the Jade Spirit Pavilion… the beautiful woman’s face looked as cold as a cold frost.

“According to the news we have received… more than 20 small and medium-sized barbarian tribes of this city as well as some other chamber of commerce have agreed to attend the Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion’s auction at the end of the month,” a green-dressed man stood to one side, and said in his mouth.

The green-dressed young woman stood to the side, and was watching the beautiful woman in a careful manner.

The beautiful woman slammed her palms on the chair heavily, and stood up.

“So, they have resorted to high-ranked magic charms to attract more people. That’s good, Zhong Xiu. I had looked down on you,” she said with hatred.

“Do we have some high-ranked magic charms in our stock?” The beautiful woman thought of something. Then, she turned her head to look at the green-dressed woman, and asked.

“Yes, we have some, but only ten or so. And, they all are already scheduled to appear as an auction item on the day of the auction,” the green-dressed woman replied.

“Only ten or so… That is very few.” The beautiful woman frowned, and shook her head in response.

The beautiful woman had been able to make it to the position of the Chamber of Commerce’s Elder at a young age. She was an incomparably savvy person. Therefore, she had understood after a moment of consideration that it was obviously not a good option to use magic charms to contend with the Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion.