Chapter 651 Gen Jixiang (4k)
The next day, fine snow still fell, and the air was still a bit chilly. Cherry blossoms drifted casually, and under the breeze, they seemed to form a swirling ball. It stopped just before the girl’s leather shoe heel.
“It seems like a lot of people are here today.”
After changing out of the conspicuous shrine maiden costume, Su Jiu wore a JK student uniform that was quite in line with the local customs. The black mid-length skirt swayed gently, and a pair of pure white sheer pantyhose snugly wrapped her calves.
E Huo no longer wore the transformed Chinese-style ruqun and instead wore a hooded one-piece child’s outfit. Like a little crocodile, she held Su Jiu’s hand and walked into the museum as if they were sisters.
The crowd pushed forward like a black torrent. Su Jiu queued up, occasionally brushing past people dressed like wealthy individuals or administrative elites. E Huo immediately felt a bit confused. Shouldn’t museums mostly attract women and children?
Su Jiu’s gaze swept around, only to find that the queue was clearly divided. Those dressed as the rich went through the middle channel, unlike her and the others. They seemed to need to pay when queuing.
“I heard that the museum will sell the essence blood of ancient monsters at a high price. Many wealthy people from out of town have come…”
“That’s right. If you add a few drops of essence blood during the second awakening of your bloodline, your bloodline might mutate into S-class.”
As the two queued aimlessly, voices inadvertently reached their ears, resolving Su Jiu’s doubts. The words of General Feng from last night resurfaced in her mind. How accurate would her guess be?
The quest [Lost Souls] was too obscure. If the person crying by the stone table was Ibaraki, was he crying because of the woman who first turned into dust?
“So, can I interpret it as the death of a close friend and the departure of a friend, making him an extreme [demon] in extreme circumstances.”
Su Jiu lowered her head, glanced at the gourd on her waist, and murmured thoughtfully. Her guess became more certain. Looking up at the bustling crowd again, her eyes were slightly dim…
Shaking her head, Su Jiu stopped thinking and led E Huo to the middle queue. Under the strange gazes of many people, she casually paid the fee, which was surprisingly as high as 500,000 yen.
Fortunately, they still accepted US dollars, which was considered more humane.
“Are you a young lady from which family?” a clear voice suddenly called out from behind Su Jiu. She didn’t sound very old, perhaps around college age.
Su Jiu turned her head and saw a young girl in a white dress. Her gaze fell on the complex long saber embroidery on the cuffs, and then she glanced at the several Battle King level bodyguards behind her, one of whom was even a High-Rank Battle King.
She immediately shook her head, indicating that she was not a young lady.
Unlike other wealthy businessmen, this girl had so many Battle King level bodyguards, indicating that her status was definitely not ordinary.
“Then how can you afford the entrance fee? I don’t believe you have no interest in that essence blood.”
The girl smiled. She was much taller than Su Jiu, with long black hair tied into a braid and placed in front of her chest, like a married woman. She looked like a noblewoman.
Facing the girl’s words, Su Jiu remained noncommittal. Instead, she smiled and asked, “Miss, you’ve been talking to me, a passerby, about these things, but you haven’t told me your name. Isn’t that rude?”
The other party looked young but possessed strength close to the Demigod Level. Her identity was definitely not simple.
“This… I am Gen Jixiang. I came here to buy some essence blood from ancient monsters. And you?”
After a moment of surprise, Gen Jixiang chuckled. She hadn’t met such an interesting person in a long time. Ordinary people would usually avoid her from afar when they saw her bodyguards.
She probed the other party with her mental power multiple times, only to find that she was just an ordinary person at the Warrior Class. She relaxed a little.
“Luko. I’m from the Dragon Country. I happened to be traveling here and saw a short queue, so I joined it…”
Nodding slightly, Su Jiu also stated her identity, all of which was fabricated, of course. After all, she didn’t want to get involved with these messy people.
Hearing Su Jiu’s chosen name, Gen Jixiang didn’t think much of it. Facing this person who seemed to be of similar age, she was curious why the other party seemed uninterested in the essence blood inside and said:
“Miss Luko, surely you don’t queue up for 500,000 yen without even knowing what this queue is for?”
“Then, like Miss Gen, I’m also here to buy essence blood. Can that be accepted now?”
Su Jiu didn’t want to answer. She found an excuse to brush her off, then turned her head and stopped talking, starting to play with her phone.
Facing Su Jiu’s attitude, Gen Jixiang felt a little surprised. Even the big shots from the eight great families usually treated her with utmost respect. The High-Rank Battle King bodyguard beside her stepped forward and whispered:
“Miss, we haven’t found the other two major families, but we’ve found traces of the Kamishiro family and the Suzuki family. Among them, there’s even a Mid-Rank War God from another region, Kamishiro Yuichi.”
“Kamishiro Yuichi? The eight great families agreed that War God level individuals couldn’t arbitrarily snatch resources. Why is an elder like him coming to a place like this to join the fun?”
Hearing this, Gen Jixiang couldn’t help but furrow her brows. Suddenly, she seemed to think of something, and her eyes suddenly sank. She looked past the people in front and whispered:
“That ancient monster is likely not just an ordinary ancient monster. It’s very possibly the [demon] from back then, and not an ordinary [demon]. The Kamishiro family has been obsessed with [Divine Blood] potions for years. After all, it’s rare to be so deeply intertwined with the army. If they really achieve something, with their ambition, it won’t be as simple as advancing to the second-rate family.”
Although she was playing with her phone, Su Jiu’s hearing was extremely sharp. She clearly heard their conversation and her suspicion about Gen Jixiang’s identity grew. What surprised her most was that the Kamishiro family actually had a Mid-Rank War God expert coming here. Her guess was probably correct. That tattered corpse was likely Shōtoku, the corpse of a demon close to a Demon Lord. The attraction to the Kamishiro family was self-evident.
“What does Young Lady mean…” The High-Rank Battle King bodyguard remained in the same posture, seemingly not daring to move without the other’s command.
“According to the research by the institute, the essence blood condensed from crushing its arm is at a level that can only be achieved by frequently consuming some kind of high-level great demon. It can be said that the entire corpse is a great tonic… I am only one step away from the Demigod Level. I must obtain it.”
Gen Jixiang glanced at him and then looked into the museum’s exhibition area. She scanned the specially priced exhibits and murmured.
Every word of the other party fell into Su Jiu’s ears. She quietly continued playing with her phone, and soon it was their turn to enter.
The moment she entered, she could feel strange energy lines moving on the formation. Her gaze swept forward, realizing that this place was different from ordinary exhibitions. Here, the prices were clearly marked.
In the front row were some ancient alchemical blades and elixirs refined by Qi Refining alchemists. However, these items were not popular, as they only had collectible value. It was unlike the cultivation novels where older things were better.
In terms of elixirs alone, current factory-made prepared liquids were several times stronger, not to mention the alchemical technology that was constantly updated. New things were always better than old ones.
“Don’t run around later.”
Holding E Huo’s hand, Su Jiu slowly walked forward, searching for the corpse mentioned by the shadow guard last night. Regardless of whether she would buy it or not, she felt that with Ibaraki’s temperament, he would definitely try to snatch it.
Ibaraki was now truly invincible. Everyone he knew was dead, and he himself was on the verge of death. A [Demon Lord] who feared no death, even without magic crystals, was a terrifying existence.
E Huo nodded. When Su Jiu’s tone became serious, she was very obedient.
“What a Great Serpent’s corpse. It’s from the early stage of War God.”
Her gaze swept across the items in the special glass display cases. Su Jiu discovered that the further inside she went, the more expensive things became, with prices ranging from a few Beginner Magic Crystals to more than ten Intermediate Magic Crystals. The dried corpse of the War God level demon was sold at a high price of twenty Intermediate Magic Crystals.
The essence blood most people wanted was from these High-Rank Battle Kings to War God level beings.
“Tap tap…”
Her leather shoes made crisp sounds on the wooden floor. Su Jiu soon reached the end, even seeing the corpse of a War God level demon from the Ancient Battlefield, but she didn’t see the mentioned [demon corpse].
“Why isn’t it here?”
She stopped at the end and looked at these things for a long time. A middle-aged man wearing a white inner shirt suddenly appeared, with a work ID hanging around his neck. The latter seemed to have heard her and asked with a smile:
“Miss, are you looking for the female corpse with essence blood?”
Su Jiu turned her head and saw a middle-aged man with a square face and a very traditional mustache. He was neat, and his chest badge read [Guanzhang].
“Didn’t the Guanzhang say this thing was to be sold? Why can’t I find it after coming in?”
After pondering for a moment, she nodded. She was indeed very interested in that item. Last night, she tried to upgrade General Feng with Ibaraki’s magic crystal, but the latter couldn’t absorb it at all, seemingly lacking a prerequisite.
She guessed that the prerequisite was likely Shōtoku’s corpse, perhaps his magic crystal, or his essence blood, or something else entirely.
“It is for sale, but the method of sale is special, and it’s not convenient to display it in the front row. I came out specifically to lead those who need it downstairs.”
Upon hearing this, the Guanzhang pointed to the floor below, his smile growing slightly. Those interested in the corpse were likely his customers.
“Special method?” Su Jiu was a bit surprised.
“Miss, this way, please.”
Seeing Su Jiu’s daze, the Guanzhang made a gesture and strode forward, saying the origin of the corpse:
“We obtained this from a large tomb in Osaka. The body actually did not decay, which is very strange. According to the clothing it wore, we guessed at the time that it might be a young lady from a prominent family who died in a state of transformation, becoming stiff…”
The two entered a narrow and dark passage, then in front of a wall, the latter casually patted it a few times, revealing a downward passage. Faint human voices could be heard from within.
“But later, according to X-ray examination, it was found that this was not a human at all. There was an irregularly shaped magic crystal inside her body. Based on this discovery, we adhered to the principle of experimentation and studied her body to determine what type of monster she was.”
At this point, the Guanzhang paused. His mustache turned up slightly, and his expression became quite solemn as he said:
“We didn’t know until we studied it. Her meridians and bones were all broken, and her chest cavity was filled with clotted blood. It seemed she was forcibly killed. You must know that according to research, this female corpse was very likely a peak powerhouse among the War God level in her lifetime. What kind of existence could beat her into such a state?”
Su Jiu remained silent. She looked along the light from below and saw that it was actually a different kind of auction house. In the foremost position, a huge cylindrical object occupied almost the entire space.
The cylinder was filled with pale blue liquid, and the female corpse was submerged within it.
The young girl was closing her eyes, with horns on her forehead, her skin slightly pale and wrinkled. Her white hair and the gauze skirt with indiscernible patterns drifted with the blue liquid, but her sleeves were empty, showing traces of blood.
Su Jiu roughly understood that this was an auction. The special method referred to inflating the prices, right?
“100 Intermediate Magic Crystals. I, Kamishiro Yuichi, will take this monster corpse. I hope everyone will give the Kamishiro family some face.”
A faint voice came from below the stage. A man in an Onmyoji outfit slowly stood up. His aura made Su Jiu’s heart palpitate.
However, the auctioneer on stage did not start calling bids. Instead, he bowed with a smile and explained: “Sir Kamishiro family, we need to wait until everyone is present before starting the auction…”
Kamishiro Yuichi’s brow furrowed slightly. Just as he was about to say something, he suppressed it. He came to track Ibaraki’s whereabouts but accidentally discovered this corpse, which was highly likely to be a [demon] or a [dragon].
It was best not to cause trouble for now.
As Kamishiro Yuichi quieted down, Su Jiu also took the opportunity to arrive at this underground auction house with less than a hundred people. She used her mental power to sense the situation around her, but she only felt a strange sense of unease, yet couldn’t pinpoint it.
“Miss Luko, we meet again. Are you also interested in this female corpse?”
Just as Su Jiu was about to detect the source of the problem, an interested female voice sounded from behind her. A few figures almost blocked the light.
Glancing back at Gen Jixiang, Su Jiu disliked this woman who looked like trouble. She replied indifferently: “The starting bid written above is 100 Intermediate Magic Crystals. I don’t have that much money to join the fun.”
“Then after I auction it, how about I sell you a leg separately? I’ve had people investigate. Many people here buy them in parts.” Gen Jixiang asked with a smile, her eyes carrying a hint of amusement.
Su Jiu was stunned for a moment. The story Ibaraki told her last night resurfaced in her mind. After a moment of silence, her eyes sank slightly, and she said softly:
“Not very good. Miss Gen, after you die, would you want your corpse to be dismembered?”
She was not a good person, but she respected good people, even their corpses.
