300,000 MT. That was the price that the weed was sold for, and it was merely the first item for auction in the second segment. The 1% charge on that would net Lex 3000 MT, and he could not imagine what the other 297,000 MT would be used for by the workers.

It seemed like he needed to get his hands on some more immortal level items and treasures for people to buy, otherwise they would have the money, but nowhere to spend it. That was an unusual predicament to say the least.

Between the auction of each item was an hour’s rest. This was, apparently, the format higher end auctions took in the universe. When time was limitless for the powerful, spending time became a status symbol. It was these nuances that helped establish the credibility of the auction.

No one found it odd, and everyone carried on as if everything was normal. Only Lex knew that it wasn’t.

A single bead of sweat rolled down his forehead, though no one noticed. He made sure no one could notice.

It had begun.

It wasn’t an attack - if that was what it was, the security team would have noticed. No, the security members from Reaving Dread began to disappear while doing their duty. It was as if they were teleported out of the Inn forcibly by some power.

He noticed in a split second, but by then dozens of Celestial Immortals had already gone. He used his authority over the Inn to restrict the remainder of the mercenaries from leaving the Inn - but his authority in this regard was incomplete.

They had come here not through golden keys, but from Lex buying security through the system panel. Whatever mechanism brought them here could simultaneously take them back.

Someone was targeting the Inn, but not from within the Inn. He was being attacked from the outside. Whoever his opponent was, they had studied the Inn for a long time, carefully understanding its limitations.

Since the security was hired from the Reaving Dread mercenaries, they just needed to get the mercenaries to withdraw on their own.

This wasn’t a foolproof method. All Lex needed to do was buy more security at a higher cost. The system would bring in others, or maybe it would bring in some other system users to act as guards. Lex didn’t do that yet, though. There was no point in revealing his hand too early.

Instead, he nudged things slowly and casually, as if he was not panicked at all, and yet could not ignore the changes occurring out of duty.

Lex suspected that his opponent might be related to a Dao Lord - one who was too afraid of Wu Kong to appear himself. But if the opponent was wary of Wu Kong, what were they doing to begin with? Wouldn’t it be even more foolish to offend the Innkeeper, the Dao Lord who kept even Wu Kong in line?

Lex could not completely comprehend the thought process of his opponent, but playing the subtle game of reacting while appearing nonchalant was taking every little bit of his mental capabilities, so much so that he was beginning to sweat.

Watching the Karma fluctuate, watching the immediate future of the Inn change, watching the external interference, all of it was a huge burden. It was greater, especially, because Karma was the kind of law that usually only Heaven Immortals began

studying. Without access to Relational Laws, understanding Karma was like trying to speak a dead language spoken using an organ that he didn’t have. Suffice to say, it was not easy.

"The next time up for auction is called the Grudge from Beyond Time. Despite its ominous name, the item is actually quite powerful, and useful under the right circumstances."

Mary waved her hand, and revealed a large, stone stake, covered in dry, purple blood.

"The Grudge from Beyond Time can be used on a target, preventing them from dying until a certain condition is reached. That includes preventing death from destruction of both body and soul, and is effective on all beings Celestial Immortal and below. Due to the nature of the item, the best condition is a grudge, but it can also be used in a number of other ways, such as curses, contracts, pacts, and, believe it or not, dares. But unlike previous items, which were auctioned using money, this item can only be bartered for."

For the nth time, all the participants in the auction froze. What kind of a broken treasure was that? What in the world?

In truth, the Grudge from Beyond Time was something Lex himself had found. He’d considered keeping it for himself, considering how useful it seemed to be. But the limitations of using it were all so negative and restricting that he would not want to use it unless it was a last case scenario.

Rather than hoarding it, it was better to barter it for something he needed more urgently.

"A treasure or item capable of accelerating localized time in a small area for an internal time frame of a minimum of 500 years. That is the minimum requirement to bid on the Grudge from Beyond Time. The greater the amount of time, or the greater the difference in time inside and outside the localized area, the more preference will be given to the item. Since this is a barter, and the item in question is rare, a time limit will be implemented. The auction for this specific item will continue for 12 hours. You can use this time to procure the item needed for the bid, if you want to participate."

The request for the item was just as ridiculous as the item being auctioned itself. But then again, treasures that affected time weren’t so rare. Since time was so valuable, a lot of organisations and powers focused on gathering or creating items related to it.

Lex’s eyes narrowed. The three system users from before were converging, and a new system user had entered the Inn.

Was it finally beginning?