84: Fruit of Blood

From box 303, a cold snort was heard.

Kapa Claus said no more, only continuously raising the price.

Every number seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth:

"Nine hundred!"

"Nine hundred and fifty!"

Rodri Grayrock held on tightly.

"One thousand!"

"One thousand and fifty!"

Ultimately, this crystalline core of the abyss worm was still bought by Kapa Claus at a price far exceeding its actual value.

......

"I hate these self-important Bloodline nobles the most."

At this moment, in another hidden box.

A woman with a face full of fine stitches and exquisite features let out a disdainful cold snort.

"His stinking mouth should be torn off and sewn onto the backside of the lowest slave."

It was "Golden Seamstress" Sheila.

She gently stroked a newly sewn deep brown long hair with an intoxicated expression, while muttering curses of dissatisfaction.

She had also participated in the bidding for the crystalline core of the abyss worm just now.

A stronger Soul would give her greater control over her pieced-together body.

Beside her, "Needle-faced" Marcus showed a helpless expression.

The countless steel needles on his face trembled slightly as he spoke in a hoarse voice to remind her.

"Sheila, our primary objective is the bloodline fruit."

"Don't create extra trouble and delay the Witch King's important business."

The auction continued.

During this time, Li Ke also acquired an Arcanist's research notes at a not-too-high price.

This Arcanist primarily researched various Secret Realm spaces during his lifetime.

He had good attainments in summoning and space.

Li Ke developed a slight interest in this.

He wanted to see if there were any relevant research and records about "Dreams of All Beings" in this world's Arcanist system.

Later, several art collectibles were successively auctioned off, all fetching good prices.

Li Ke remained uninterested and did not make any further bids, only quietly observing the movements in the hall.

Just as Li Ke was feeling somewhat bored.

The auction finally reached its most anticipated segment.

The grand finale item, the bloodline fruit, appeared!

On the high platform, where the lights focused, a crystal cover slowly rose.

Inside the cover, a fist-sized, blood-red fruit, covered in strange veins and subtly pulsating Li Ke a heart, quietly floated.

A rich aura of life and peculiar Bloodline fluctuations were clearly discernible, even through the grey Mist of the box.

As soon as this item appeared, the atmosphere in the hall was instantly ignited.

Almost all boxes from Bloodline noble factions began to voice bids.

"One thousand gold crowns!"

"One thousand one hundred gold crowns!"

"The Claus Family bids one thousand three hundred gold crowns!"

In room 303, Kapa Claus's voice was heard again.

"Hmph, Grey Rock Family, one thousand four hundred gold crowns!"

Grey Rock's voice followed closely, showing no weakness.

The Claus Family and the Grey Rock Family once again engaged in a fierce, tit-for-tat struggle.

The price soared wildly, quickly breaking the two thousand gold crowns mark,

reaching a sky-high price that many minor nobles could only look at in despair.

However, just as the price climbed to two thousand three hundred gold crowns,

Kapa Claus's bidding voice became noticeably deeper and slower, as if his confidence was gradually waning.

Evidently, the malicious price inflation on several important auction items earlier had severely depleted the funds he brought.

In room 316,

Rodri Grayrock let out a low laugh.

His mountain-Li Ke body continuously hummed, shaking away some of the thin grey Mist lingering around him.

He picked up a delicate porcelain cup from the table with two thick fingers.

The normally sized teacup looked miniature, Li Ke a toy, in his hand.

Rodri Grayrock poured the red tea from the cup into his mouth, letting out a triumphant sound,

"Having exhausted so many resources earlier, what do you have left to compete with me?"

"Kapa, you're out!"

Just when everyone thought that this bloodline fruit was about to fall into the hands of the Grey Rock Family,

unexpectedly, an unfamiliar room numbered "181" suddenly entered the fray.

With an even higher price, it directly surpassed Rodri Grayrock.

Rodri Grayrock bid against them again, even uttering threats multiple times.

From room "181", only a cold snort was heard, with no further reaction.

Ultimately, this precious bloodline fruit was successfully acquired by the mysterious room "181".

"Bastard!"

In room 316,

Rodri Grayrock's furious roar, along with loud crashes and shattering sounds, suddenly erupted.

Subsequently, the entire box's grey Mist violently churned and was quickly completely enveloped, with no more sounds emanating from it.

Evidently, some Restriction of the Mist Hall was triggered, forcibly quelling the disturbance within the box.

As this major auction item settled, the auction gradually drew to a close.

The remaining auction items were mostly less important miscellaneous objects.

This was actually a deliberate arrangement by the Mist organization,

cleverly providing guests with time to disperse and leave during this period to avoid unnecessary conflicts.

One by one, the surrounding boxes began to be filled with dense grey Mist.

Guests silently left through the Mist passages that appeared within their respective compartments.

On the side of Li Ke's "207" compartment, the grey Mist also began to ripple Li Ke water.

A moment later, an oval grey Mist passage, with continuously twisting and fluctuating edges, silently appeared, emitting faint spatial fluctuations.

......

Oak Tree City,

In a secluded, deserted alley,

the air subtly twisted, and a mass of grey Mist appeared out of thin air, swirling and condensing into a humanoid passage.

Li Ke's figure calmly stepped out from it.

He lightly stepped onto the somewhat muddy flagstone path, slowly surveying his surroundings.

This was a very narrow alley, with low, greyish-white stone buildings on both sides.

The paint was peeling, revealing the rough grey stone beneath, and the air was filled with a faint smell of mold and rotting garbage.

It seemed to be a corner of Oak Tree City's Lower City District.

This was clearly not the same alley he had entered the Mist Hall from initially.

"It seems the Mist organization is truly proficient in spatial teleportation methods."

Li Ke tidied his clothes, lost in thought.

A moment later,

the shadows in the alley writhed, and the tall, slender figure of the Silver Armor Corpse slowly emerged from within.

"How is it? Have you investigated thoroughly?"

Li Ke asked casually.

The Silver Armor Corpse's dark eyes looked at Li Ke.

A subtle but clear message was directly transmitted into Li Ke's mind.

Li Ke's lips curved into a slight arc, and a hint of understanding flashed in his eyes.

He raised his head, his gaze piercing through the alley's exit, looking towards a certain direction in Oak Tree City.

"It really is the Claus Family's stronghold."

Earlier, after he received Morgana's intelligence report,

he had already contacted the Silver Armor Corpse and the Faceless Paper Figure through mental connection,

sending them to investigate the Claus Family's stronghold mentioned in the intelligence.

And according to the Silver Armor Corpse's feedback,

that place indeed emanated the unique aura fluctuations of the Trout Whisper Bloodline.

Regardless of Morgana's intentions, at least her intelligence was accurate.

"In that case, nothing else matters."

Li Ke lightly jumped onto the Silver Armor Corpse's shoulder, patting it.

"Let's go, it's time to retrieve our things."