Chapter 312: Chapter 299: Illusion Hall
Shopping really is addictive!
This was Zhouyang’s genuine feeling after going shopping on the Flying Giant Ship.
There are a thousand reasons for people who don’t like shopping, but the most important reason is definitely that they haven’t encountered something they have a strong desire to purchase, or there’s an economic issue.
As for the treasures in each shop inside the Flying Giant Ship, Zhouyang believes there isn’t a single cultivator who wouldn’t be interested.
The ship holds various rare treasures from the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm, and exotic treasures like the "Spirit Rhinoceros Jade Pendant" from the Overseas Cultivation Realm, which are immensely attractive to cultivators in the inland Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, and to those like Zhouyang from the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm.
Even if one doesn’t buy or cannot afford these treasures, just seeing them and expanding one’s knowledge is highly beneficial for cultivation.
If it weren’t for his dao companion Xiao Ying currently in closed cultivation to break through to the Eighth-Layer Foundation Establishment, and the fact that the Flying Giant Ship will stay in Immortal Sun City for another year, Zhouyang would have sent a flying sword communication to invite his dao companion to the mall immediately.
Moreover, as he explored more stores inside and spoke with more staff, he gradually learned that almost every shop inside the Flying Giant Ship represents a force from the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm.
The so-called "East Splendor United Trading Group," as its name suggests, is a coalition formed by over a third of the major sects and large clans in the Donghua Continent.
It is because of so many major forces investing, that a variety of treasures converge within the Flying Giant Ship, attracting countless cultivators from the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm for shopping and trading.
Zhouyang also knew that the treasures currently displayed by each shop were certainly not their most valuable items brought this time.
Those true treasures were likely to be revealed and offered for trade only when the Flying Giant Ship reaches "Liuyun Immortal City."
"Liuyun Immortal City" is the true holy land of cultivation in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, an earthly paradise personally established by a Tribulation Crossing True Immortal; it is the most prosperous and opulent place in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm.
During his journey to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, Zhouyang had long planned to make that city the final stop of his journey.
After spending nearly a day exploring all the shops, Zhouyang reluctantly left this layer and went through a teleportation light gate to the third layer of the Flying Ship where the auction house is located.
This third layer space is nearly half the size of the layer below, with a semicircular auction stage at the deepest part, while the rest is standing space.
According to the trading rules, anyone who comes to this layer can bid on the items currently being auctioned on the stage.
However, any bid made must be honored; if you successfully bid on a treasure, you must pay and purchase it, or else the auction house will directly take action and deal with you!
When Zhouyang arrived there, the first day’s auction had ended, and preparations for the second day’s auction were underway. Many cultivators from the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm were at the front desk consigning treasures to the auction house’s treasure appraisers.
Seeing this, Zhouyang thought for a moment, then also joined the queue.
While standing in line, Zhouyang glanced at a notice board beside him displaying the consignment rules.
According to these rules, consigning treasures at this auction house, regardless of the final transaction price, only incurs a fixed half-percent commission, and the consigned treasures must be Tier Four or above.
Just charging a fixed half-percent commission was undoubtedly much cheaper than the big auction Zhouyang had attended in Immortal Sun City.
Yet, when one thinks it through, there is indeed much to consider behind this charge.
Firstly, the "East Splendor United Trading Group" is an outsider; if their charges were higher or the same as the locally reputable Profound Sun Pavilion, it would be undoubtedly difficult to attract cultivators from the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm to consign their treasures for auction to them.
Secondly, since their auction is held daily, the half-percent commission not only allows them to acquire a large number of treasures to auction and increase foot traffic but also lets them profit from small margins and fast turnover.
Thirdly, because many treasures inside the shops on the layer below only accept bartering for others, many cultivators, even if holding a million spirit stones, cannot buy the treasures they fancy.
However, the existence of the auction provides a channel to convert spirit stones into treasures, prompting those in need to be more willing to bid high for some treasures at auction, indirectly earning considerable stone income for the entire "East Splendor United Trading Group."
In summary, the "East Splendor United Trading Group" may seem dismissive of spirit stones due to their publicly disclosed trading rules, but after a round of trade, the spirit stones they earn are astronomical, with most being clear profit with no cost!
Ironically, people not as insightful as Zhouyang praise them highly for their low commission fees, unreservedly dubbing them as "conscientious merchants," commending them unceasingly.
The truth is, they’ve been sold and are still helping the seller count the money!
"There are truly experts within this East Splendor United Trading Group! Who would have thought that in this cultivation realm that venerates power and strength, there would be such commercial geniuses!"
Zhouyang, who saw through all this, couldn’t help but marvel in his heart.
This kind of step-by-step persuasive consumption tactic, even in his previous life in a world where business was highly developed and information highly transparent, countless people fell for it. Let alone in this cultivation world, where business is not so advanced.
Of course, coming up with such persuasive consumption tactics is certainly impressive, but to truly execute them, strong support is essential; otherwise, in this cultivation realm where no law prevails, cultivators who discover they’ve been duped won’t just quietly admit defeat.
Thus, it returns to the theme of power being supreme in the cultivation realm; no matter how wise and calculating you are, if you don’t have enough strength to back it up, in the end, you’re only making wedding clothes for others!
Similarly, even though Zhouyang could see through everything, he still had to obediently continue to wait in line to be "sold" by others.
The situation is more formidable than him, leaving him no choice.
After waiting for some time like this, it finally became his turn.
"Here is a magical artifact, Dao friend, please appraise it. If the price is right, I would like to put it up for auction,"
He handed over a storage bag directly to the treasure appraiser. Inside was the lifebound spiritual artifact "Kunyuan Ruler" of Jiang Ming, the Golden Core Stage cultivator of the Yellow Sand Sect.
This lifebound spiritual artifact of a Golden Core Stage cultivator, though unable to exert its true power in the hands of others, is still a proper Tier Five Spiritual Artifact.
For some new Golden Core cultivators who don’t have Tier Five Spiritual Artifacts at hand, or Ninth-Layer Purple Mansion cultivators, owning such a Tier Five Spiritual Artifact is certainly better than using a Tier Four Top Grade Spiritual Artifact.
"The materials used to refine this Tier Five Spiritual Artifact are pretty good, but as a lifebound spiritual artifact, after its owner passed away, its value can no longer compare to Tier Five Spiritual Artifacts. If you truly want to consign it, I can only give you an appraisal of 150,000 low-grade spirit stones as a try!"
The treasure appraisers at the auction are experienced in appraising countless treasures, and a Tier Five Spiritual Artifact that can’t display its full power cannot shock them easily. This person just opened the storage bag given by Zhouyang to take a slight look and provided him with a starting price.
"Can it only be appraised at 150,000 low-grade spirit stones?"
Zhouyang frowned, feeling quite dissatisfied in his heart.
You have to know a good Tier Four Top Grade Artifact can reach this price, let alone a Tier Five Spiritual Artifact.
But he also understood that for consigned treasures at auction places like this, except for those particularly rare treasures, generally, the starting price compared to the normal price is lower by a few percent, which is normal practice.
By doing this, firstly, it allows auction participants to feel as if they’ve found a bargain, fervently placing bids.
Secondly, when the price is lower than the normal price, the possibility of the item failing to sell is very low. Once a treasure fails to sell, the auction house not only fails to earn commission fees, but it also slightly affects the reputation of the auction house.
So after contemplating for a while, he finally nodded and said, "Alright, fifteen hundred thousand spirit stones it is."
This "Kunyuan Ruler" is useless in his hands, rather than letting it gather dust in the storage ring, it’s better to exchange it for spirit stones.
Immediately, after having processed the consignment procedures and received the consignment receipt, Zhouyang just found a place to sit down within the auction.
This auction house has a rather interesting point; when the auction officially starts, a powerful illusion realm covers the entire venue, and then all the cultivators in the auction house will have their consciousness pulled into the illusion realm, and all auctions will occur within this realm.
This way, whoever obtains a treasure at the auction, apart from the auction house personnel, no third party will know.
After Zhouyang waited for more than two hours, the auction officially began.
Suddenly, a dense fog appeared in the auction house, and before Zhouyang could see clearly the source of this fog, the scene before him changed, surprisingly transforming into a splendid grand hall.
He slightly cast a spell to gather a water mirror and observed his reflection, discovering that his appearance had changed from a young, handsome man into a gentle, cultured middle-aged scholar. His aura at the First-Layer of the Purple Mansion had inexplicably enhanced to the Sixth-Layer of the Purple Mansion.
Then he turned his gaze to others, noticing that in the hall, there were already no personnel he had seen in the auction house previously. They all had unfamiliar faces, and it was impossible to discern whether the owners of those faces were male or female.
While Zhouyang was surveying the situation within the hall, suddenly a flash of white light appeared in the center of the magnificent hall, quickly revealing a slender, silver-haired elder.
The elder, upon appearing, raised a hand, and before him, a table formed from mist appeared, and behind Zhouyang and others, a majestic armchair also formed from mist simultaneously appeared.
After performing all this, the elder finally greeted the astonished crowd with a smile and said, "Welcome Dao friends to the Illusion Hall; I am today’s auctioneer Lin Beihai. I invite all Dao friends to take a seat, the auction will commence shortly."