Chapter 178: Jade Danqing

If one had not witnessed it with their own eyes, who could have imagined that hidden away in the barren wilderness of the northern outskirts of Capital City, such a grand architectural marvel existed?

Inside this massive courtyard, every single level was formed by a continuous corridor. Standing inside the elevator, Lin Le and his companions could clearly see crowds of people coming and going across the various walkways. The entire Earth Nine Tower appeared remarkably bustling and lively, presenting a stark contrast to the dilapidated desolation outside.

The elevator descended all the way, finally stopping at the ninth underground level.

This was the very bottom of the structure—the ninth underground floor—which was precisely how the Earth Nine Tower derived its name.

With a crisp ding, the elevator doors slid open.

Immediately, a spacious circular hall unfolded before Lin Le and the others.

The entire hall teemed with bustling crowds, alive with activity and animation.

Inlaid upon the floor of the hall was a large circular mural, depicting figures representing people from all walks of life, rendered with vivid realism that perfectly matched the enigmatic identity of the Earth Nine Tower.

Standing in the absolute center of the hall and looking upward, one felt as though they were trapped at the bottom of a colossal, deep well. The nine-tiered structure towered magnificently overhead, and far above, the bright blue sky remained clearly visible.

"I never imagined Capital City harbored such an entertaining place," Ji Xiaorui exclaimed in astonishment.

Ever since stepping inside, she had been consumed by intense curiosity about everything around her.

Liang Qiuyang was equally surprised. Although he had lived in Capital City for many years, he had never previously had the opportunity to access this hidden realm, and he felt a profound sense of wonder at being brought here.

"Alright, the auction should be starting soon. Let's head inside," Lin Le said.

The underground auction constituted the most crucial component of the Earth Nine Tower, which was why its venue was situated on the deepest floor—the ninth underground level.

On this lowest level, four grand halls faced the cardinal directions of east, south, west, and north. Aside from the western chamber, which was specially prepared for the auctions, the other three halls were reserved for the internal operations of the Earth Nine Tower organization. Even the highest-ranking executives of the tower maintained their quarters on this floor.

Only after entering the auction hall did Lin Le and his companions truly appreciate the majestic scale of the Earth Nine Tower's architecture.

Spanning hundreds of square meters, the massive hall was adorned with a distinctly classical aesthetic. Completely unlike the style of conventional external auction houses, it bore a striking resemblance to a traditional old opera theater.

Most unique of all, the entire auction hall was lined on both sides with private viewing booths. Each booth was concealed behind a golden curtain, preventing the occupants from seeing one another.

This arrangement was primarily designed to ensure the safety of the bidders.

Unlike legitimate, mainstream auction houses on the surface, the Earth Nine Tower operated within a gray zone. Furthermore, the patrons frequenting this establishment were predominantly martial artists and underworld figures from all walks of life. There was no guarantee that malicious characters hadn't slipped inside, eyeing those who openly displayed their wealth. After all, everything within the Earth Nine Tower was unprotected by conventional laws; if any misfortune befell someone here, they would simply have to chalk it up to bad luck.

After Lin Le, Ji Xiaorui, and the others settled into their assigned private booth, Ji Xiaorui suddenly pointed toward the main hall outside and cried out in pleasant surprise, "Hey, Master, look over there!"

Following the direction of her finger, Lin Le saw a glamorous figure standing near the entrance of the hall. It was none other than Qu Xinyao, the alluring goddess they had encountered earlier on the road.

Qu Xinyao's appearance was striking enough to turn heads anywhere, but here within the Earth Nine Tower, she looked particularly out of place.

After all, the regular patrons of the Earth Nine Tower were mostly rugged, thick-skinned men and fierce brutes. Even when women occasionally appeared, they were usually weathered veterans of the underworld whose youth had long since faded. The presence of a young and breathtaking beauty like Qu Xinyao caught everyone off guard.

As for why Ji Xiaorui's arrival earlier had not caused a major stir, the thick-skinned martial men of the Earth Nine Tower had likely simply assumed she was the daughter of some dignitary brought along to sightsee.

Qu Xinyao possessed not only flawless skin and exquisite beauty, but her entire demeanor radiated an intoxicating, boundless charm. Almost instantly, she commanded the attention of everyone in the auction hall.

In particular, the burly, rough-hewn martial men locked their eyes onto her the moment she appeared, their faces instantly twisting into expressions of fanatical excitement. Greed burned in their gazes as they scanned her body up and down, looking as though they desperately wanted to devour her alive right then and there.

Yet Qu Xinyao seemed completely oblivious to their reactions, maintaining a calm and nonchalant expression.

To make matters worse, acting with utter disregard for danger, she trotted right up to a heavily bearded giant and bowed politely to him.

"Konnichiwa!" Qu Xinyao greeted the giant with a radiant smile.

Hearing such a soft and melodious voice, the giant's legs nearly went weak, almost causing him to collapse to the floor.

He instinctively swallowed hard, a wave of ecstatic delight sweeping across his face. He greedily licked his thick lips, his eyes darting frantically all over Qu Xinyao's figure.

"Konnichiwa!" the giant enthusiastically blurted out in response. Yet coming from his mouth, the word lost its original meaning, taking on an unmistakably sinister and predatory overtone.

"Great beauty, is there anything I can help you with?" the giant asked with a suggestive twitch of his brow.

Seeing this heavily bearded brute being proactively approached by such a stunning beauty instantly provoked waves of intense jealousy among the surrounding men. They bitterly wished they were the ones receiving her attention, which would afford them a close-up glimpse of the beauty's enchanting visage.

"My private booth number is sixty-eight. Do you happen to know where it is?" Qu Xinyao asked with apparent innocence.

Hearing this, Lin Le couldn't help but inwardly let out a bitter chuckle. This young woman truly lacked common sense; did she think she was coming here to watch a movie? To openly reveal her private booth number to strangers—if she planned on participating in the bidding later, wouldn't that completely expose her identity? She truly was all looks and no brains...

"Is that so? What a coincidence, our booths happen to be right next to each other! Mine is precisely sixty-nine. Why don't the little beauty accompany me to my booth instead..." the giant said with a wicked grin.

The surrounding men burst into gloating, derisive laughter upon hearing the giant openly flirt with the beauty. Qu Xinyao, however, remained entirely clueless, speaking with polite detachment, "No thank you, sir. You only need to tell me where booth number sixty-eight is."

More malicious chuckles echoed from the crowd around them.

Witnessing this scene, Ji Xiaorui's expression darkened with anger.

"These scumbags are utterly despicable!" Ji Xiaorui fumed indignantly.

"I'd say this young woman is simply too foolish; she has no business coming to a place like this in the first place," Lin Le sighed helplessly, shaking his head.

After trading a few more crude remarks with her, the bearded giant reluctantly pointed out the location of booth sixty-eight and let her go.

Yet after this commotion, virtually everyone in the auction hall now knew the exact location of Qu Xinyao's booth.

A moment later, a woman clad in a tight-fitting purple evening gown stepped onto the central stage in the hall.

Her figure was voluptuous and graceful, swaying seductively with every step she took. A pair of slender, snow-white legs flickered in and out of view through the slit of her gown, exuding an irresistible charm.

Her face was adorned with exquisite, heavy makeup, making her look as though she had just stepped off the pages of a fashion magazine.

Though this woman possessed a mature allure far surpassing Qu Xinyao's—holding even greater appeal for these rough martial artists—none of them dared to behave as brazenly as they had earlier. The entire crowd fell instantly silent.

As regular visitors to the Earth Nine Tower, they knew better than anyone that the single most dangerous person to provoke here was none other than Yu Danqing.

Yu Danqing was an insider of the Earth Nine Tower. Though she appeared endlessly seductive on the surface, her methods were ruthlessly vicious.

In the past, some clueless fool had dared to disrespect Yu Danqing in public, only to have both of his hands summarily severed by her. With such a formidable woman present, no one dared to court death by crossing her.