Main Text: Volume Three, Chapter 113: The Auction

As they spoke, one of them reached out with a phantom grasp, pinning An Shu in mid-air. Yu Mu fared even worse; a casual kick from the old man left him immobilized within the net.

"Nascent Soul experts!?" the two gasped in shock.

Only then did An Shu realize that Yu Mu’s words were true. She struggled desperately, but having already exhausted her spiritual energy, she was powerless to break free.

The old couple laughed heartily. "A breathtaking beauty and a strange-looking, rare spirit creature—we’ve struck it rich this time! Hahaha..."

"And they delivered themselves right to our doorstep! Hahahaha..."

Seeing their true colors, An Shu cursed herself for falling into the trap. Yu Mu, however, felt a bitter taste in his mouth; he never imagined that while he and An Shu fought each other, this pair of fishers would reap the rewards.

At that moment, the old woman produced a pair of collars and fastened them around their necks.

They had no idea what these were, but the moment they were locked on, the connection between their consciousness and their Golden Cores was severed. They were reduced to the level of mortals, unable to channel a shred of spiritual energy.

Their expressions shifted drastically. This object made them realize the gravity of their predicament. These were the legendary slave collars, designed specifically for the capture and control of slaves. Any cultivator below the Nascent Soul stage, once collared, could never break free, as the device isolated the consciousness from the inner core. No matter one’s prowess, without access to the power of the core, one was no different from a common person.

The old couple gazed at them with wild delight, their faces crinkling into deep folds of joy.

After admiring them for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the old woman turned to her deckhands with satisfaction. "Take these two premium goods and place them with that old ghost. Take meticulous care of them—these are two massive fortunes. If anything happens to them, don’t blame me for being ruthless."

"Understood." Two crewmen each dragged one of them into the cargo hold.

Upon entering the hold, a nauseating stench hit them, nearly causing An Shu to faint. Yu Mu, however, remained unaffected; thanks to the teardrop in his possession, all filth and evil miasma were kept at bay.

The hold was stacked with iron cages of varying sizes, containing over a dozen cultivators—some human, some beast—and even a few demonic beast cubs.

The two were dragged to a relatively cleaner cabin and placed into separate iron cages.

An Shu glared at Yu Mu, yet she was secretly terrified of her own fate. For a beauty like her, the outcome of becoming a slave was all too predictable. All of this was caused by the villain before her, but in their current situation, what could hatred possibly solve?

Yu Mu scanned the surroundings, eventually focusing his attention on an old man in another cage.

The old fellow was filth incarnate. It was unclear whether he had been trapped for so long that he had become this way, or if he was simply like that by nature. His hair was matted into a thick, pitch-black clump of grease and grime atop his head. His face was so blackened that his true features were unrecognizable. He was beardless, and his mouth was filled with rotting, yellowed teeth coated in thick, black tartar.

Even a person as thick-skinned as Yu Mu felt a wave of nausea at the sight. After one glance, An Shu dared not even cast her eyes in that direction again.

No matter how one looked at him, he did not resemble "premium goods," yet for some reason, he received the same treatment as them.

Suppressing the discomfort in his stomach, Yu Mu asked the filthy old man, "Hey, old man, what’s your name? Why were you captured and brought here?"

Whether the old man’s ears were blocked by grime or he simply couldn't be bothered to respond, he remained in a half-dead state, ignoring every word.

After asking for a long while with no response, Yu Mu gave up.

After dinner, the hold gradually grew quiet as the slaves drifted off to sleep. Only the two newcomers, nauseated by their meal, found no peace.

Yu Mu tried to strike up a conversation with An Shu, but she seemed to have been infected by the old man’s apathy; since entering the hold, she hadn't said a word, merely staring blankly at her own feet.

Yu Mu was lost in his own daze when the cabin door creaked. The old man stepped in silently. The old scoundrel, wearing a malicious grin, walked straight to An Shu and cast a binding spell on her.

"What are you..." Before Yu Mu could finish, the old man struck him unconscious with a single palm.

An Shu trembled violently, her eyes filled with despair. Yet, unable to move a muscle, she could only watch as the old man’s claw-like hand reached for her.

She slowly closed her eyes, and blood-red tears welled up at the corners of her lids.

Just then, a loud *crack* echoed through the room as the old man was sent flying, slamming heavily against the cabin wall.

"You old tortoise, I knew you were up to no good! This is a mid-stage Golden Core female cultivator, and a virgin at that. Do you have any idea how much she’s worth? And this strange bear—have you ever seen a spirit beast like this? You dare to lay such heavy hands on him? Are you looking for death? *Slap! Slap!*"

The old woman struck the old man twice across the face, drawing blood from his nose and mouth, before kicking him out of the cabin.

She then turned back, revived Yu Mu, and lifted their bindings. "My little darlings," she said, "you are the most valuable goods in this batch, second only to that old ghost. I wouldn't dream of letting you suffer. I promise, what happened today will never happen again. As for what happens after you're sold... heh heh heh... well, that’s no longer my concern."

With a satisfied look at the three of them, she turned and exited the cabin.

The hold returned to silence, but An Shu was a changed person. The incident had dealt her a devastating blow, foreshadowing her future. She had lost the will to live, her spirit fading until she became little more than a walking corpse.

Seeing a beautiful flower on the verge of withering, Yu Mu felt a surge of anxiety, but he was at his wit's end. His attempts to comfort her were futile.

Several days passed in this manner until the ship finally docked.

A commotion erupted outside, and soon, a group of people entered. They wrapped the cages in thick black cloth and carried them out of the hold.

From the crewmen’s chatter, Yu Mu gathered that they had arrived in the city of Huyue.

They were loaded onto large carts and hauled into the city. Once inside, the slaves were placed in the basement of a massive building. They were even provided with a hearty meal—compared to the garbage they had eaten on the ship, this was a feast fit for royalty.

Even Yu Mu couldn't resist eating some. The filthy old man ate like a starving soul, shoving food into his mouth as if he hadn't eaten in lifetimes. Only An Shu remained in her catatonic state, not even lifting her eyelids at the spread of delicacies.

After the meal, servants arrived to change their clothes and groom them. Yu Mu knew they were to be sold that day.

Sure enough, as dusk fell, they were driven out of the basement and arranged in a grand hall.

The hall was filled not just with the old couple, but with several other slave traders, all preparing their own wares for sale. After the organizers inspected the three of them, they were once again shrouded in black cloth—whether to add an air of mystery or to keep them from being recognized, it was hard to say.

As for the filthy old man, he remained as dirty as ever; the grooming and cleaning had nothing to do with him. Yu Mu couldn't imagine what kind of "premium goods" he was supposed to be, to the point that he didn't even require packaging.

Listening to the chatter in the hall, Yu Mu realized that only the three of them were deemed "premium" enough to participate in the upcoming auction. The other slaves would be sold here after the auction, and those who remained unsold would be sent to the cheap slave markets.

From the backstage area, the bustling sounds of the auction could be clearly heard. It featured not only slaves but other items as well. However, this was merely a routine auction, not a significant event. If it had been a true high-end auction, it was doubtful whether the three of them would even have qualified. At that level, the slaves auctioned off would likely need to be at least at the Nascent Soul stage, wouldn't they?

As the auction neared its end, it was finally their turn. It seemed their value had been assessed highly; otherwise, they wouldn't have been reserved for the finale.

They were led to the stage according to their rarity, and Yu Mu was ruthlessly placed first.

He was led onto the stage by a man holding a rope. The moment the black cloth was pulled from him, the entire room—both on stage and in the audience—was stunned into silence.