“What a beast… Is this really the protagonist among monsters?”

“And look at that dog, Da Huang. It’s huge!”

Listening to the hushed whispers of the surrounding crowd, Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow. His gaze drifted over the chaotic scene, his thoughts turning inward. It all leads back to that Earth Spirit Root Golden Core cultivator, Huang Yuanhua. Just who was he, and what secrets lie buried within his cave dwelling?

Despite the intrigue, Jiang Chen had no intention of leaving the safety of Green City, let alone venturing deep into the treacherous Dark Forest.

For a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator to wander into a nest of monsters wasn’t adventuring; it was suicide. Furthermore, the saga of Huang Yuanhua’s cave had dragged on for nearly half a year. If swarms of hunting teams hadn’t picked it clean by now, there was a deadly reason why.

He decided to watch and see what the “Down Mountain Tiger” hunting team was planning.

“Look at the length of it! Truly worthy of being a five-hundred-year-old great demon.”

“This is the third one they’ve hauled back. Who knows how many more are hiding in that cave?”

The crowd, a mix of Loose Cultivators and mortal onlookers, pointed and gestured at the massive carcass of the [Earth Dragon].

Although Green City was famed for monster hunting, it was rare for a team to drag such a massive, intact corpse directly into the city streets. The Down Mountain Tiger team was clearly making a statement, and they had succeeded. The spectacle had caused a sensation, drawing a crowd of at least several thousand.

At that moment, the captain of the team stepped forward. He was a burly man, his armor caked in the mud-like blood of the Earth Dragon. His sharp, predatory gaze swept over the audience, gauging their reactions, dissecting their expressions.

“Fellow Daoists!” the man bellowed, his voice booming over the noise. “I am Wang Tianba, Captain of the Down Mountain Tiger hunting team. There are two reasons I have brought this Earth Dragon’s corpse before you today.”

He held up two thick fingers.

“First, to broaden everyone’s horizons.”

“Second, to conduct a public auction right here, right now!”

As soon as these words left his lips, a collective gasp rippled through the crowd.

In Green City, auctions were the exclusive domain of the official Auction House. That establishment was managed by the formidable Golden Core cultivator, Perfected Master Wang—the de facto ruler of Green City, the Loose Cultivator Market, and the Fragrance Pavilion.

What Wang Tianba was doing wasn’t technically against the law, but it carried the heavy scent of overstepping one’s station.

Many faces in the crowd paled, eyes darting nervously as they processed the implications.

Is Wang Tianba crazy? Is he not afraid of angering Perfected Master Wang?

Compared to the shock and anxiety of the locals, Jiang Chen, observing from the periphery, remained impassive. If anything, a flicker of anticipation lit up his eyes.

Last time, I spent 33 Mid-grade Spirit Stones at the official auction to secure five rare spirit plant seeds extracted from an Earth Dragon’s stomach sac, he recalled. One of them turned out to be the Mutated Green Gourd. Perhaps lightning will strike twice.

Wang Tianba wasted no time. “We will auction this five-hundred-year-old Earth Dragon piece by piece! Skin, flesh, bones, spinal marrow, essence blood, stomach sac, and core organs. If it can be stripped, it will be sold! Bid enthusiastically!”

The first item on the block was the hide.

Despite the creature’s miserable, battered appearance, the skin of a great demon was incredibly tough. The Earth Dragon’s hide, infused with a trace of heavy Earth Qi, offered unquestionable defensive properties.

The crowd surged. Metal Spirit Root cultivators and blacksmiths shouted their bids, eager for the raw material.

“Ten Mid-grade Spirit Stones!”

The hide was sold quickly. As time passed, the flesh, bones, and spinal marrow followed, snapped up by eager buyers. Even at a premium, parts of a five-hundred-year-old monster were rare commodities.

Then came the main event for the alchemists: the Essence Blood.

Wang Tianba took a jagged, serrated blade and, right there in the street, sliced open the Earth Dragon’s chest cavity. With a wet, sucking sound, he reached in and pulled out a fist-sized crystal that glowed with a murky, earthy-yellow light.

“The Earth Dragon’s Heart Essence Blood!” Wang Tianba announced, holding the dripping crystal high. “Starting bid: Ten Mid-grade Spirit Stones. Minimum increment: One Mid-grade Spirit Stone!”

Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes, watching the viscous fluid drip from the crystal. Truly worthy of the name Earth Dragon; even its heart blood looks like sludge.

However, high-level monster blood never lacked a market. Alchemy, Talisman making, Artifact refining—it was a universal catalyst.

Why? Attributes.

The Earth Dragon possessed a dense Earth attribute, and its Heart Essence Blood was the purest concentration of that power.

A frenzy erupted.

“Eleven!”

“Fifteen!”

“Twenty!”

The price skyrocketed, bypassing thirty-three and showing no signs of stopping until it breached fifty.

Jiang Chen clicked his tongue in amazement. Who said Loose Cultivators were poor?

In the end, a renowned male alchemist from the market secured the earthy crystal for a staggering 55 Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

Finally, it was the turn of the item Jiang Chen had been waiting for: the [Stomach Sac].

Last time, the messy organ had yielded a fortune.

Wang Tianba reached back into the gaping carcass. He grunted, heaving with both hands, and pulled out a massive, gray, membranous sac. Thick, foul-smelling mud and gastric fluids poured from it, splashing onto the street.

A pungent, fishy stench instantly assaulted the crowd, causing the front rows to recoil and cover their noses.

“Earth Dragon Stomach Sac!” Wang Tianba shouted, ignoring the slime coating his arms. “Known for its spatial properties, it can be refined into storage spirit tools. Starting bid: Five Mid-grade Spirit Stones! Increments of no less than one!”

The enthusiasm in the crowd evaporated.

While it was true the sac could be used for spatial tools, the raw material was undeniably repulsive. It was ugly, slimy, and smelled like a sewer that had been baking in the sun for a century. Walking around with a storage bag made from this would make one a laughingstock.

Still, a few gamblers were willing to try their luck, hoping for something inside or a cheap material source.

“Six stones.”

“Seven.”

The bidding was sluggish, crawling upward one stone at a time.

Jiang Chen watched silently, his expression unreadable. He didn’t speak immediately, preferring to let the low-ballers exhaust themselves. He needed to see just how much disgust this crowd could tolerate.

Before long, the price hit ten Mid-grade Spirit Stones and stalled.

Seeing the interest waning, Wang Tianba frowned. “Gentlemen! As I said, the defensive capabilities of a sac this old are absolute. It is a steal at this price!”

Despite his sales pitch, no new hands went up. The visual of the dripping, reeking sac was too powerful a deterrent.

It struggled its way to fifteen Mid-grade Spirit Stones, and then the silence stretched. The auction was about to die.

Jiang Chen knew it was his turn.

“Sixteen stones,” he said, his voice calm and cutting through the murmurs.

The crowd turned to look at the unremarkable cultivator who had spoken.

A few seconds of silence passed. Then, the previous bidder, a scruffy man holding his nose, gritted his teeth. “Seventeen stones!”

Jiang Chen didn’t even blink. “Eighteen stones.”

The scruffy man’s face darkened. He looked at the hideous pile of gray meat, then at Jiang Chen’s impassive face.

“You’re actually fighting for that piece of filth?” The man spat on the ground, overwhelmed by the stench. “Fine! You’re ruthless! I don’t want it anymore!”