187: Chapter 187 is all about the Transcendent Realm.

Before them was a room piled high with miscellaneous items; old tea canisters and broken tables and chairs were stacked in the corners, and the air was filled with the astringent scent of aged tea leaves.

The old man walked to the corner, bent down, and pressed a blue brick. The floor slid open silently to reveal a secret door, leading to a stone staircase that extended underground, illuminated by oil lamps hanging on the stone walls on both sides.

He followed the old man down the stairs.

Every few meters along the stone stairs stood a guard dressed in black tight-fitting attire, with swords at their waists and a steady aura.

As Lin Tian's gaze swept over these guards, his heart sank slightly—they were all Fourth-Grade Dark Energy Martial Artists.

In a Sect like the Qixia Sect, a Fourth-Grade Disciple was already a backbone force of the various peaks, and in an outside small Family, they would be enough to serve as an Elder, but here, they were merely guards standing watch.

The further down they went, the higher the cultivation of the guards; at the turn at the end of the stone steps, the two guards standing watch had deep and restrained auras, and surprisingly, they were both Fifth-Grade Transformation Realm Martial Artists.

The two Transcendent experts simultaneously reached out and pushed open the heavy ironwood door in front of them, the door hinges emitting a dull boom as they turned.

Inside the door was a spacious underground hall. Several glazed lamps hung from the ceiling, their light bright but not glaring.

The floor was paved with polished bluestone bricks, with a long nanmu wood table in the center and a dozen grandmaster chairs arranged around it.

Some people had already arrived—seven or eight individuals sat scattered in the grandmaster chairs, some wearing bronze masks, some wrapped in thick black cloaks, and some dressed in brocade robes but with their faces covered by black veils, revealing only their eyes.

The middle-aged man with the folding fan, whom Lin Tian had seen before, sat by the window, the jade thumb ring on his finger glowing with a warm luster under the light, but his face was completely obscured by a silver-thread mask.

Everyone was intentionally or unintentionally restraining their aura, but after Lin Tian reached the Transcendent realm, his perception had greatly improved; a slight sensing made his heart tremble slightly—all these people present were Fifth-Grade Transformation Realm Martial Artists.

When he entered, several gazes fell on him simultaneously, lingering on him through the black veils of their cloaks, but after sensing his equally unmasked Transcendent aura, they all shifted their gazes away.

No one spoke; some leaned back in their chairs with their eyes closed to rest, some lifted their teacups to take a sip, and some continued to fan themselves with their folding fans.

The old man who led the way had already slipped out at some point, and the ironwood door closed again.

A moment later, a side door pushed open, and a person wearing a golden mask walked in.

His voice came from behind the mask, unhurried: "Everyone, I am tonight's shopkeeper."

"The rules are simple—our underground black market will first sell a portion of the auction items, and afterward, those present can also take out their own items, and I will act as the auctioneer to conduct the transactions."

"Monetary transactions are allowed, and bartering is also fine. You are all Transcendent Martial Artists, so you understand the rules, and I won't say anything more. Let us begin."

He clapped his hands, and a guard walked in holding a long spear.

The spear body was entirely silvery-white, and the spear tip gleamed with a faint, chilling light. The shopkeeper announced in a clear voice: "Cold Silver Spear. The body is mixed with star-fallen iron, weighs seventy-six catties, and the tip has been quenched three times; its piercing power is superior among weapons of the same rank. The starting bid is eight thousand taels."

Several Martial Artists present finally reacted; a burly man sitting diagonally opposite Lin Tian was the first to raise his paddle, and a Tall Thin Man beside him immediately followed by raising his paddle to increase the bid.

The two of them went back and forth for several rounds, and finally, a bloated fat man in brocade robes secured it for twelve thousand taels.

He slapped the banknotes onto the table, and the guard handed the long spear to him.

Next, the shopkeeper successively brought out several more auction items—a heart-protecting mirror capable of withstanding a full-force strike from a Fifth-Grade, with a starting bid of ten thousand taels;

a high-grade Yellow Rank saber manual, with a starting bid of six thousand taels;

and a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills for Transcendent Martial Artists, with a starting bid of three thousand taels.

They were all good items, but Lin Tian never raised his paddle.

He leaned back in his chair, his cloak obscuring his expression, but his gaze remained fixed on one thing—which the shopkeeper had not brought out.

The Treasure Fish feed also did not appear throughout the entire process.

All the auction items were sold, and the shopkeeper set down the wooden gavel and said to the crowd: "The items we intended to sell have all been auctioned off. Next, it is time for everyone to exchange with one another. Who will go first?"

There was a slight stir in the hall, and several Martial Artists looked at each other.

Lin Tian sat in his original place, unmoving; the Treasure Fish feed had not appeared, so the greatest possibility was that it was in the hands of someone present.

These people were all Fifth-Grade Transformation Realm Martial Artists—Elders of various Families, deacons of Schools, or expert Loose Cultivators who Cultivate alone.

Perhaps some of their Family forces raised Treasure Fish and had their own Breeders, and they brought the excess feed to the black market to exchange for resources.