The Golden Phoenix Auction House was a monument to excess—gold-leafed pillars, silk-draped balconies, and guards clad in enchanted jade armor. Aris, wearing the Mask of the Faceless as the "Pale Alchemist," didn't head for the front desk.
Using his Abyssal Eye, he scanned the building's layout until he found a side entrance used by servants and mid-level management.
[Target Identified: Manager Feng]
[Level: 28 (Qi Foundation Stage)]
[Status: Desperate / Greed-Driven]
[Hidden Fact: Feng has embezzled 5,000 Gold to pay off gambling debts. The auditors arrive in three days.]
"Perfect," Aris whispered.
Manager Feng was a sweating, balding man pacing in a private back office. He was currently staring at a ledger with a look of suicidal despair.
Creak.
The door opened without a knock. Feng jumped, his Qi flaring weakly. "Who is—"
"A solution to your problem," Aris said, his voice modulated by the mask to sound like cold silk.
Feng froze. He looked at the featureless porcelain mask and the dark, heavy aura radiating from Aris. "I don't know what you're talking about. Leave, or I'll call the guards!"
Aris tossed a single black pill onto the desk. It rolled across the wood, leaving a faint trail of violet frost.
"The Abyssal Foundation Pill," Aris stated. "It cleanses 20% of impurities. In an empire obsessed with talent, a pill that 'fixes' a mediocre son is worth its weight in spirit stones. I have three. Put them in tonight's 'High-Tier' slot."
Feng scoffed, though his eyes lingered on the pill. "Impossible. Only Saint-grade Alchemists can cleanse 20% at once. You're a fraud."
"Test it," Aris challenged. "On yourself. Your own meridians are clogged from cheap wine and stress. One breath of the medicinal fragrance will tell you the truth."
Feng hesitated, then leaned in. He took a deep sniff.
[Effect Triggered: Abyssal Allure.]
Feng's eyes widened. His sluggish Qi suddenly accelerated. The dull ache in his chest—a result of his poor cultivation—vanished for a split second.
"This... this is..."
"A way to make 10,000 Gold by midnight," Aris leaned over the desk, his mask inches from Feng's face. "You take the official commission. I take 70% of the profit. But—and here is the part you'll like—I'll leave enough 'ghost gold' in the records to cover your 5,000-gold debt. The auditors will find nothing."
Feng's hands shook. He looked at the pill, then at the mysterious masked man. "Why me?"
"Because a man with a noose around his neck is the most loyal partner in the world," Aris said. "Do we have a deal, Manager?"
Feng gulped and nodded frantically. "Yes. Yes! I'll list it as an 'Anonymous Contribution' from a Hidden Sect Master. No one will dare question the source."
The Auction: The Frenzy Begins
Aris sat in a private, shadowed corner of the auction hall, Nox curled in his shadow. He watched as the elite of the Great Qin Empire bid on jade, swords, and slaves.
Then, Feng stepped onto the stage, holding the black pill in a crystal case.
"Our final 'Surprise Entry' for the evening," Feng announced, his voice trembling with excitement. "A pill that defies the laws of the Heavens. The Abyssal Foundation Pill."
The Abyssal Eye watched the room. Aris saw the "Information Bars" above the heads of the nobles turn from Bored to Shocked.
Duke Yan (Level 48): "2,000 Gold!"
General Thorne's Rival, Lord Meng (Level 50): "4,000 Gold!"
The price skyrocketed. The "Shadow-Addiction" property of the pill's aura was subtle; it made the bidders feel a deep, primal need to possess it.
[Quest Update: The Hidden Monopoly]
Goal Progress: 8,500 Gold earned (Goal: 500 Gold). [CRITICAL SUCCESS]
Reward: 300 AP + Abyssal Forging Unlocked.
Bonus Reward:Manual: Thousand-Face Illusion (Rank: Earth).
[Abyssal Nexus: Post-Auction Status]
AP Balance: 495 AP.
Wealth: 5,950 Gold (After Feng's cut and debt coverage).
Reputation: The "Pale Alchemist" is now a legend in the Underworld.
Nox Progress: Level 3 (Gained 5% growth from eating the "Greed" in the room).
As Aris walked back toward the Thorne Estate in the dead of night, he felt a cold presence behind him.
[Warning: You are being followed.]
[Target: Shadow Guard of the Meng Family.]
[Level: 32 (Qi Foundation Rank 9).]
"A Level 32 hunter for a Level 7 player?" Aris stopped in a dark alley, his mask dissolving back into his skin, revealing his five-year-old face. "Nox... I think it's time for your first real meal."