Tomb Raider: The man is in the Nine Gates, but the system insists it's the Primordial Era.

"The effects of your elixir are quite obvious; it can be put up for auction."

Thank you.

Su Mu nodded slightly as he watched Yi Xinyue come upstairs again.

Zhang's personal guards and Huo Xian'er followed closely behind.

"Here you go. If it's not enough, I'll go get more."

Huo Xian'er placed the thick wad of silver notes on the table.

Yi Xinyue raised an eyebrow: "You guys are really rich."

Zhang's personal guards carried heavy boxes and placed them aside with a thud.

Upon opening, one finds various bank notes, gold, silver, and other valuables.

Zhang Qishan also revealed his trump card, assisting Su Mu in this auction.

Su Mu glanced at them and asked Yi Xinyue beside him, "Is this enough for me to light a sky lantern?"

Yi Xinyue nodded blankly: "That's definitely enough. No, where did you get so much money? You're so young, don't your elders care about you?"

elder?

Of the group, Huo Xian'er was not yet the head of the Huo family and was still under the jurisdiction of Huo Jinxi.

As for the others, who are their elders?

They are all special individuals who have taken charge of their families at a young age.

Su Mu glanced at Zhang Qishan sitting behind him out of the corner of his eye.

It's likely that Zhang Qishan and the rest of the Zhang family in this generation have never heard of the deeds of the Thirty-Three Inhumans.

Among the Nine Gates, very few people know why Fifth Master Wu Laogou was able to rise to power so quickly.

After all his elders died at Biaozi Ridge in Changsha, he was still able to rise again and become the fifth-ranked member of the Nine Gates.

In reality, he secretly dug up the limbs of an "ancient corpse," swallowed them, and underwent a strange transformation.

This explains why, in Wu Xie's memory, after his grandfather Wu Laogou died, in an era when cremation was not necessary, the elders in the family still strictly ordered that Wu Laogou's body be burned with flames.

At the same time, no one within a radius of several miles should be allowed to see the burning of Wu Laogou's body.

Because at that time, Wu Laogou had already been infected by the strange energy of the ancient corpse and was about to undergo a bizarre corpse transformation.

This is the origin of the legendary "Corpse Dog Hanging".

"The second item for auction has arrived."

Qi Tiezui pushed up his glasses and continued to look down at the high platform with great interest.

On the high platform, items different from those auctioned earlier were pushed out.

"It's this thing."

Upon seeing the item being pushed out, Su Mu subconsciously frowned.

Sure enough, there aren't many good people among the rich.

"It seems everyone is familiar with this item, so without further ado, let the auction continue."

The man in the blue robe on the stage smiled and pushed the items in front of him.

"Placenta".

"What is that?"

"Come closer, I'll tell you, it's that..."

"Holy crap! People actually eat this? That's insane! And people actually buy it?"

"I'll offer one thousand silver dollars!"

"One thousand and five!"

"two thousand!"

"No, it's just a placenta, why are you making such a fuss? Aren't they everywhere?"

"Anything that the Crescent Moon Hotel puts up for auction must be something special. They say it's incredibly nourishing, slurp~"

"Please elaborate, what specific supplements are needed?"

"Replenish Yin deficiency."

"Bid three thousand silver dollars!"

"I'll pay five thousand!"

"Ten thousand!"

"..."

Su Mu glanced sideways, not even looking at the items being auctioned on the stage.

The other people in the private room also subconsciously shifted their gaze.

It seems that the deer antler grass and the dragon's blood were just rare auction items used by the Crescent Moon Hotel to stir up the atmosphere at the auction.

After the auction items, the next items to be sold are the ordinary but highly profitable ones.

The Crescent Hotel generally does not actively seek out items for auction; it simply provides a venue for most people to sell their treasured possessions.

The profit model involves taking a cut of the revenue.

What's being auctioned on stage right now is probably stuff from the Crescent Hotel's own warehouse.

They get all the money, no matter how much they sell.

After all, with such a large business, relying solely on auction revenue would not be enough to establish a foothold in such a prosperous area as Beiping.

They couldn't afford to support so many servants, thugs, and power.

"Xiaodie, can you go and steal the stuff those Japanese devils just bought?"

Su Mu patted the Gu worm on his shoulder and said, "Immortal Journey."

The little guy cleverly flapped its wings and began to fly away.

"What I'm looking for hasn't appeared yet. Let's talk about the ancient tombs and mines. Both of your families should have some information on that, right?"

Su Mu turned around and looked at Zhang Qishan and Er Yuehong.

Er Yuehong spoke nonchalantly, "My elders discovered part of the tomb's blueprints, but the rest couldn't be brought back because they all died inside the tomb. It's a tomb from the Northern and Southern Dynasties, probably belonging to some feng shui master..."

Su Mu's expression remained unchanged, but his gaze remained fixed on Zhang Qishan.

Zhang Qishan lowered his head, as if trying to avoid Su Mu's sharp, penetrating gaze.

Ancient corpse contamination.

extraterrestrial meteorite.

Space distortion.

Immortality mechanism.

Research on living people.

Zhang Qishan wouldn't reveal these things so easily.

Everyone has selfish desires, and he was no exception.

According to the information he has gathered over the years, similar traces of contamination from ancient corpses have appeared in various places in both the north and south.

A tomb chamber contaminated by an ancient corpse is likely to harbor ominous and eerie things, but it may also hold tremendous opportunities.

Zhang Qishan's father was a true descendant of the Zhang family, a lineage of the Qilin clan.

His grandfather was a strong contender for the position of the previous Zhang family head, and was just one step away from taking control of the Zhang family.

But in the end, he was just one step short, which is why he ended up leaving the Zhang family.

Therefore, Zhang Qishan actually knew more secrets than the average direct descendant of the Zhang family.

Among them is some information about the source of the "ancient corpse contamination".

Legend has it that beneath the Kunlun Mountains lies a strange ancient corpse that is neither human nor object, neither alive nor dead.

That ancient corpse feeds on the energy of the earth's veins and other corpses from various places.

Wherever the ancient corpse passed, wondrous creatures like the Qilin's Blood would appear.

The reason why the Zhang family ancestors obtained the bloodline of longevity and immortality was related to that ancient corpse that was neither human nor object nor alive nor dead.

"...That's about it."

Er Yuehong pursed her lips and stopped the conversation.

The discovery of the ancient tomb in the mine by the Hong family was a complete accident.

The Nine Gates of Qian were all involved in tomb raiding, so they naturally became interested after discovering the ancient tombs in the mines.

Little did they know, this ancient tomb was no ordinary tomb.

Su Mu shook his head.

Zhang Qishan is clearly the type who won't give up until he's completely defeated. He'll only be willing to share more information with Su Mu, an outsider, if he actually encounters something he can't handle in that ancient tomb.

The dangers of the ancient tomb in the mine were beyond the capabilities of Zhang Qishan and his companions, who were new to the tomb.

The first time he went, it would definitely be just like the plot in Su Mu's mind: Zhang Qishan returned injured, unconscious, covered in white hair, and on the verge of death.

Only when Su Mu revives him will the other party perhaps reveal the secret he is hiding.

"Alright, it's time for the auction of the rare and unusual items that everyone's been waiting for. People, bring the items up."

"You're all wondering why my Crescent Moon Hotel would auction off a piece of wild animal meat. Are we out of our minds? Hahaha, actually, no. This item is related to what happened in Yingkou last time..."