Condemning the Heavens Chapter 188: Golden Crow City

"It was a pleasure to travel with you," Wan Qiang said with a great smile on his face.
Wan Qiang was indeed the one who had enjoyed traveling with Xue Wei and the others. He had asked many questions, tried to get closer to both Xue Wei and all his friends, and he had tried to pry into their past with casual conversation.
Xue Wei and the others had stayed on high alert from the very start and divulged very little to Wan Qiang. They chose their words very carefully, as they realized that Wan Qiang was the type to catch even the tiniest hint.
He was trying to find out the backgrounds of Bai Tianyi and Wang Xiaoyun. his interest in Xue Wei and Hei Gou was almost non-existent, which made Xue Wei frown. He was convinced the man knew who he was.
When Wang Xiaoyun accidentally called Xue Wei by his real name, Wan Qiang showed no surprise or confusion. He just smiled slightly. At the end, Xue Wei was completely convinced that the elder knew of him. But why would he assist him, then?
As they traveled northwest, they found that the temperature dropped slightly. Most people would not notice it, but they were all cultivators, and every change around them was easily sensed by them.
Throughout the entire journey, they had traveled on main roads. The main road they were currently traveling on, led to a large neutral city that was placed right on the border of the Chengzi Kingdom and the Skyward Empire.
The Golden Chambers owned this city. It was a very important trade hub for the nations on both sides of the border. This was the main trade connection to exchange specialties from the two countries.
When they were a mile away from the gates, they saw the beginning of a queue that led to the entrance of the city. Merchants, caravans, independent cultivators, and even sect members were all waiting patiently in the queue.
"This is where we will say our goodbyes," Wan Qiang said with a nod of his head. "I have guided you towards the location that is most suitable for you on the way towards the center of the continent."
"I wish you all the best in your endeavor and try not to get killed." Wan Qiang smiled at them before he turned around without a second word, and flew off at a speed many times faster than what he had shown thus far.
"Let’s join the queue," Xue Wei said, looking at the mile-long queue curiously. "I wonder if it is natural for this many people to be entering the Golden Crow City," he questioned. The others shrugged their shoulders.
"Young ones, I take it you are not from this area?" someone standing behind them asked. Xue Wei turned around, only to face a middle-aged man on top of a carriage. "I can tell you what is going on, but for a price," the man said with a grin on his face.
Curious as Xue Wei was, he tossed a gold coin to the man who hurriedly caught it and his eyes shone with excitement. Xue Wei was always worried about not having enough money, but when he had earned some he found that he was rather generous with it.
"The Golden Crow City is governed by the Golden Chambers. The Golden Chambers has many neutral cities placed in the border areas of various kingdoms and empires. The Golden Crow City is known to be one of the smaller of their cities."
"It just so happens that every city under the control of the Golden Chambers has a yearly auction, and this city's auction will happen two weeks from now." The man grinned. He had been given a gold coin so he had no intentions to skimp on information.
"The Golden Crow City is located right between the Chengzi Kingdom and Skyward Empire, so it has the best from both sides. Usually, all the high-quality spirit fruits from the Chengzi Kingdom are sent to the center of the continent, but this time some of them will be up for sale."
"I even heard a rumor saying that a Rebirth Pill is going to be put up for auction."
Xue Wei jolted, and then his eyes glistened. Wang Xiaoyun was similarly shocked. "A Rebirth Pill?" she asked hurriedly with bated breath,. The man nodded his head.
"I am mentioning it because I saw your companion's appearance," he said seriously. "But the three great sects have sent people here to get it for them, so it will be difficult for you to keep it for yourself."
Xue Wei concentrated for some time before he looked at the man. "Are there any formations up for sale?" he then asked. The man started laughing out loud. "Formations? This is only the border between the Chengzi Kingdom and the Skyward Empire. Even if they are to deliver some treasures here, a formation is far too rare to appear in this location!"
"Although there are formation masters in the continent, they are incredibly rare and all of them guard their formation recipes with their lives. If a formation master is to appear, that will be within the center of the continent, not out here in the outskirts."
Xue Wei smiled. Hearing the man’s stern denial at the prospect of a formation master appearing here, he had a feeling that he could possibly get his hands on the Rebirth Pill if he put a few formations up for auction.
Xue Wei thanked the man for the information he was given, and looked around. There were indeed people from every single faction and a lot of independent cultivators rushing to the city.
The queue was in constant procession, and they soon reached the gate. Paying thirty silver a person was almost a highway robbery, but Xue Wei did not cause any drama and paid it right away.
As they entered into the city, they did not look for an inn but headed straight to the center of the city where a massive pagoda was located. Hundreds of small buildings were placed at the foot of the pagoda, each one being a store of its own specializing in specific things.
The auction later would be held inside the pagoda. It was also where they carried out examinations for those seeking to list an item of their own.
Xue Wei, followed by Hei Gou, Wang Xiaoyun, and Bai Tianyi, headed straight for the pagoda’s front entrance. Their clothes were all of the highest quality, but they were travel-worn and dusty after being on the road for so many days.
"Excuse me, sirs and madam, what can we do for you?" A servant appeared the moment they entered the building.
"We have an item we would like to have evaluated. We intend to sell it at this years auction," Xue Wei answered casually. He did not go into detail about what exactly he wanted to sell, which made the servant frown slightly.
"Come with me," the servant said politely and gestured for them to follow him. He led them into a small chamber adorned with beautiful figures, statues, and paintings.
"Please take a seat," the servant continued and pointed at some cushions on the floor with a table in the middle. "I will return with our head appraiser," he said after a bit of hesitation.
He had not wanted to pick this appraiser, but something about this group told him that it was worth it.
Xue Wei raised an eyebrow in surprise when he heard him. He had not mentioned what he wanted to auction off, but he had still been treated as one of the most important guests in the Golden Chambers. This showed that the servant had a good gut sense and was able to get a good first impression of them.
Bowing deeply, the man left the chamber, leaving Xue Wei and his friends alone for some time.
Not long after, a few knocks could be heard on the door and soon a senior man stepped inside.
"Good day, sirs, madam," he said as he nodded to all of them. "I am the head appraiser of the Golden Chambers branch within the Golden Crow City. Please show me your items."
Xue Wei did not hesitate and pointed his finger at the table. Thirty Spiritual Energy Bombs appeared on it, alongside ten Paralyzing Formations and three very simple stone figures that had puppet formations on their chests.
The appraiser stood in shock when he saw these papers and the stone figures. At first glance, they were worth nothing, but when he saw the runes on them, his eyes widened, and his mouth went agape.
"These are... formations?" he asked. Xue Wei nodded his head.
"I am a formation master. I want to sell thirty Spiritual Energy Bombs, ten Paralyzing Formations, and these three simple formation puppets," he stated while gesturing towards the items on the table.
"I know that it is hard to believe me, so please, take one of each and examine it. Even trying them out will be okay; we can waste one of each to ensure that you can trust me," he said amiably.
Xue Wei had been worried that they would suspect trickery, but the appraiser shook his head with frenzied denial.
"How could we waste formations like that?" he asked, shocked and petrified. "Sirs, madam, please wait a moment, I will go fetch our formation examination kit," he said and dashed out.
Moments later, the man came back into the room with a large box in his hands. It contained some orbs, which he pulled out and promptly proceeded to use to examine the formations. Every time the orb shone with a blinding light, the senior appraiser smiled contentedly.
It took him an hour to go through every single one of the formations. When he finished, his face was plastered with a smile.
"These are all genuine formations!" He exclaimed with shock. "We could never even hope to have one formation, but now we have forty-three! Sir, are you sure that you wish to sell them all at our auction?"
"I wish to sell them all at the auction. I need the gold coins to purchase the Rebirth Pill," Xue Wei said seriously. The head appraiser was silent for some time.
"Sir, I might be able to help you out," he said before he excused himself and left the room again.
Shortly after, the appraised returned. This time, he was not alone but came with a stoic-looking old man. He had a goatee and his eyes were stern.
He looked at Xue Wei with his stern eyes, but there was no hostility in his gaze. He held a snow jade box in his hand.
"Good day, I am the director of the Golden Chambers within Golden Crow City," the stoic man said. "I’ve been informed that you have brought out some valuable formations for us to auction off. Those formations will bring our branch incredible praise from the headquarters"
"The Rebirth Pill was sent to us from the headquarters to be the main attraction of this year's auction, but we would be very happy to trade the Rebirth Pill for some formations," he said seriously, making Xue Wei open his eyes in surprise.
"We will need to charge a sky-high price," the man continued, "because we’ve already leaked word of the Rebirth Pill. Retracting it will do damage to us, so to make it worth it for us, I want fifteen of your Spiritual Energy Bombs, five of your Paralyzing Formations, and one of your formation puppets."
"We are not able to bargain on this price. It is already the lowest price I can offer you," the man said seriously. "As a token of appreciation, I will, however, waiver the fees for selling the other formations at our auction house, and I will lend you the only first-class room during the auction."