Free Web NovelChapter 443: Borrowing Old Vine’s Auction House
"Hey, Stone, how did the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb quest go? What rewards did you get? And what was with those rainbow clouds around the women at Crab Lake earlier?"
"Seriously, stop keeping us in suspense!"
The moment Boss Blaze finished announcing the revenue distribution plan, Drunkard and Invincible Strong immediately turned their attention back to the subject they’d been dying to ask about. They had been holding themselves back through the entire meeting, but now they couldn’t wait any longer.
"Yeah, Stone, you’ve started another craze," DragonBlade added with a laugh. "The forums are exploding. People are talking about immortals and Angels descending from the heavens. Crab Lake is completely packed."
Cleaver, meanwhile, was focused on what mattered most to him.
"Forget that. Stone, how was the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb? Did you find any legendary weapons?"
Marcus couldn’t help smiling.
The reaction at Crab Lake had surprised even him. He hadn’t expected players to become so obsessed with cultivation and immortals after seeing a few glimpses of Harmony Peak. Then again, if he was being honest, he understood exactly why they were excited. The idea of flying through the sky on clouds and pursuing immortality was hard for anyone to resist.
"Heh. Alright, alright. I’ll tell you."
Marcus began recounting everything that had happened inside the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb.
He talked about the First Emperor’s Tomb, the Four Spirits’ Guard, the Earth-Wind Spirit Cave hidden within the tomb, and the strange Mountain Forest Court on the fourth level, where Mythic beasts roamed and Mythic-grade treasures could be found.
Fortunately, he had recordings of most of it. Otherwise, Drunkard and the others probably would have thought he was exaggerating.
"Harmony Peak?"
Drunkard immediately raised an eyebrow.
"Stone, what kind of place is that? The name sounds suspicious."
Laughter broke out around the room. Marcus ignored him and simply opened the recording.
The moment the footage began playing, the room fell silent.
The endless mountain ranges stretched across the horizon. Black and white clouds drifted through the sky, constantly shifting and changing shape. Ancient buildings covered entire peaks, connected by stone paths and floating platforms. Cultivators moved through the air on clouds, crossing from mountain to mountain as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The scene looked nothing like anything players had encountered before. Even Marcus had been stunned the first time he’d seen it.
Now, watching his friends’ reactions, he could understand why.
Nobody spoke.
For nearly a full minute, the room remained completely silent as everyone stared at the recording. Then the dam finally broke.
"Holy crap..."
"Stone, you’re going to make another fortune."
"How does your luck keep getting better?"
"Wait, did you actually become a cultivator?"
"Can players still get there? We need to find a way into Harmony Peak."
The room erupted into excited discussion. Even Boss Blaze, who was usually calm, couldn’t hide his interest.
After a lengthy debate, they finally settled on a title for the recording: freēwēbηovel.c૦m
Harmony Peak: Dual Cultivation or Immortal Cultivation? You Decide
Everyone agreed that the viewing fee should be set at no less than one hundred gold.
Marcus had spent a long time recording Harmony Peak. Guided by Shadow Panther, he had explored most of the important locations throughout the sect, capturing its scenery, unique landmarks, and cultivator lifestyle from every angle.
Compared to what viewers would get, one hundred gold was practically a bargain.
Once the excitement died down, Marcus took out another item.
A Guild Creation Token.
The room instantly grew quieter.
"I also picked up this Guild Creation Token," Marcus said. "Do you think we can auction it soon? It should sell for at least three hundred million. And players are already approaching level forty. We should probably auction off the level-forty equipment we found too."
Everyone immediately understood the significance.
A Guild Creation Token could completely reshape the balance of power among the major guilds.
The level-forty equipment wasn’t far behind in value. Yet instead of looking excited, Drunkard frowned.
"That’s the problem, Stone."
Boss Blaze nodded.
"The auction house is overloaded."
Marcus blinked.
"That bad?"
"Worse."
Blaze spread his hands.
"We already have three auction halls screening your recordings around the clock. Every schedule is packed. Tickets for the next two days are completely sold out. We don’t have any empty time slots left."
Path to Heaven nodded in agreement.
"And buying another auction hall isn’t realistic right now. Prices have gone crazy. At current Dominion market rates, acquiring one would cost at least a hundred million gold."
Marcus thought for a moment.
"What about renting Dominion’s central arena?"
That was how Old Vine had handled one of their major auctions before.
"We could," Path to Heaven said, "but everyone wants that arena. There’s only one of it. Even if we applied immediately, we’d probably have to wait two days before getting a slot."
He shrugged helplessly.
"By then, the tenth guild in Dominion might already be established."
That wasn’t an exaggeration. Guild Creation Tokens were simply too important. The longer they waited, the more value the token would lose.
"There are two major auctions tomorrow," Path to Heaven continued. "One hosted by Gold Coin Auction House and one hosted by Old Vine Auction House. Both have plenty of traffic. Honestly, the smartest move is to use one of theirs."
Marcus considered it for a second before nodding.
"Then I’ll talk to Old Vine."
That was clearly the best option.
Old Vine had already told him before that he wouldn’t charge any commission on Marcus’s auctions. Functionally, it wasn’t much different from using the Nightmare Auction House itself.
There was another reason, too. The Guild Creation Token had been taken from Shadowfall’s assassins.
If he auctioned it through the Nightmare Auction House, Shadowfall might decide to stir up trouble.
Letting Old Vine handle the auction would draw some of that attention elsewhere.
"Alright, no point wasting time."
Marcus stood.
"You guys sort through the equipment. Take whatever you need. I’ll head to Old Vine’s Auction House and get the Guild Creation Token listed."
As he spoke, he began taking high-level equipment out of his inventory and placing it on the table.
Nobody stood on ceremony. Their squad had been together for years. Most of them were closer than family.
Everyone was currently pushing toward level fifty, and level-forty gear would make that process much easier.
Their overall strength had grown dramatically recently. Almost everyone had broken past level forty.
Kingston, in particular, was progressing at an astonishing pace. The former top Sorcerer from their previous game was already close to appearing on Dominion’s Level Leaderboard.
Marcus had never underestimated him.
Kingston’s leveling speed was impressive, but what truly made him dangerous was his combat ability. Whether it was PvP, duels, or large-scale fights, his mechanical skill was among the best Marcus had ever seen.
Then there was Fate’s Trial.
After completing the Wraith-Bird quest, he had successfully advanced into a hidden class: Deathmage.
The development had nearly driven Drunkard crazy.
The two had made a wager about who would reach level fifty first, and now the outcome looked increasingly obvious. Fate’s Trial was pulling farther ahead every day.
Drunkard complained constantly, but even he knew he was probably going to lose.
Marcus watched everyone sorting through the equipment and felt perfectly content. He played games to make money, sure, but these people were his friends.
Not casual gaming buddies. Not temporary teammates. They had been through too much together for that.
As for the equipment itself, Marcus wasn’t concerned about the value anymore.
Most of the best Golden-grade gear had already been claimed by the women in his group. What remained would only sell for a few hundred thousand gold per piece at most. Tens of thousands of dollars sounded like a lot to most players, but compared to his current wealth, it barely registered.
The money from his recordings alone was arriving faster than he could spend it.
Drunkard and the others regularly spent similar amounts on group dinners, vacations, and gatherings without thinking twice about it.
At this point, Marcus honestly couldn’t get excited over anything below Mythic grade.
Only Mythic-tier items still felt like real money.
