Gazing at it was like watching a real sunrise, its magnificence, and grandeur beyond description in human language, yet not dazzling—even a three-year-old child could admire it freely.

A wonderful treasure, but unfortunately she couldn’t afford it. With the two pieces of mermaid silk she had purchased, she intended to craft two Smoke Gauze Scarves, one for her foster mother and one for herself. Smoke Gauze Scarves were defensive magical tools that, when tucked in one’s sleeve, could dispel poisons and clear dizziness from miasma. Those made from mermaid silk were even resistant to divine weapons. Madam Xu often had to show her face when conducting business and being beautiful, there might be people with wicked intentions or underhanded schemes. Peng Bai couldn’t protect her at all times, but with this Smoke Gauze Scarf by her side, Feng Miaojun could be somewhat more at ease about her safety.

She also bought several rare metals, which would serve as food for White Board, the liquid metal spirit. One good trait Cloud possessed that she agreed with was being generous to subordinates, which made them wholeheartedly devoted to your service.

After purchasing these three items, her purse had shrunk by more than half. Feng Miaojun had run her business well in Jin Capital these past few years, and the funds from the Feng family business were at her disposal; otherwise, she might not have been able to afford the Nurturing Sun Pearl.

Her funds were tight. This place was a money pit—throwing all her assets in would barely make a splash.

After passing through two more areas, they reached the auction for various bulk commodities.

The numerous large ships crammed into every available space at Luofu Island’s harbor weren’t all there for precious items. Most people rushed to the Luofu Fish Market to purchase bulk goods such as fish catches, precious underwater minerals, aquatic medicinal materials, and second-grade mermaid silk, all allocated through open bidding.

Feng Miaojun even saw the strangest auction item here—bird droppings that could cover two islands. Of course, only two samples were displayed, while the foul-smelling goods remained on a small island hundreds of miles away. But well, the seller included shipping.

Even more strangely, there were countless bidders.

Two sea merchants on the bench exclaimed with surprise and laughter: “Today I’ve truly broadened my horizons—people fighting over bird droppings?” Yet the price kept rising.

The fish manager standing nearby respectfully explained: “Customers may not be aware, but these bird droppings have accumulated for tens of thousands of years on these islands. They are the best fertilizer and feed, and mainland countries purchase large quantities every year.”

Everyone sighed in understanding.

Feng Miaojun naturally understood this as well. Bird droppings were high-quality, natural phosphate fertilizers with tremendous effects on crop growth. In her world, there were tiny nations that relied entirely on bird-dropping resources to achieve first-class prosperity.

After watching numerous goods sold at low prices, she deeply missed the Inch Bottle. The Feng family had hired a passenger ship, and even if she bought extensively here, she couldn’t transport everything. If she had the Inch Bottle, carrying everything away would be a matter of moments.

Speaking of which, the Luofu Fish Market also auctioned several personal spatial items, but the largest one didn’t exceed one cubic meter. Its capacity was extremely limited, enough only for some personal items before becoming full. Yet even these weren’t cheap, each starting at one hundred and fifty spirit stones.

If the Inch Bottle, with its astonishing capacity and ability to store living beings, were put up for auction, how much would it fetch? Only now did she realize that Yun Ya was truly a massive tycoon!

Before leaving him, why hadn’t she extracted more benefits from this walking treasury?

As Feng Miaojun wandered through the various auction areas, dazzled by the displays, she kept reminding herself: Don’t buy, don’t buy! No money, no money!

Buy any more and she’d have to cut off her hand.

Proceeding this way, she successfully prevented herself from impulse buying countless times, succeeding for only one reason:

Poverty.

Before she knew it, the day had passed. Luofu Island was a city that never slept, and the Fish Market would continue for two more days. She resolved that after leaving today, she would never return.

Then, she spotted Fu Lingchuan and Princess Changle.

Princess Changle clung to Fu Lingchuan’s side like a dependent bird. From the first moment Feng Miaojun had seen these two, she sensed Princess Changle’s feelings for Fu Lingchuan. This guy was clever; how could he not know?

Fu Lingchuan maintained his usual gentle demeanor, but his wandering gaze revealed indifference. He had little interest in the treasures at the Fish Market, yet he still strolled through the auction halls.

Most strangely, Princess Changle wasn’t looking around either.

This was highly unusual. Even Feng Miaojun, who prided herself on her self-control, felt dazzled entering this place, wishing she had ten more pairs of eyes to see everything. It was in a woman’s nature to feast her eyes even on things she couldn’t afford.

Yet Princess Changle showed equally little interest. If it wasn’t because her standards were too high, there could only be one explanation:

She was preoccupied or had her target, allowing her to remain so single-minded.

Feng Miaojun was intensely curious about these two and couldn’t help following them. Fortunately, the auction areas of the Fish Market were arranged in a string spiraling downward, and sea merchants like her who browsed from beginning to end were numerous, so she didn’t attract Fu Lingchuan’s special attention.

Of course, she only used her peripheral vision to keep tabs on them. This man was highly skilled, with acute senses.

Fu Lingchuan had now reached the final two auction areas, where the items had grand claims and high starting prices. The hall was full of people, all there to witness the spectacle.

This hall specialized in auctioning “Ancient Treasures.”

Simply put, these were various rare treasures that had survived from the Haoli Empire and even earlier eras.

Most people who reached this point knew these were beyond their financial means and simply enjoyed the spectacle.

An auction for a magical tool had just concluded, selling for one thousand seven hundred spirit stones.

Though the item was excellent, Feng Miaojun could only sigh at the price: So many wealthy people.

Five hundred thousand taels of silver, heh.

Fu Lingchuan and his companion paused here briefly. Seeing they no longer attracted attention, they then left through a side door.

The Lower City of Luofu was spiral-shaped, and this was the last exhibition hall. Where did the side door lead? Feng Miaojun wasn’t sure, but it probably wasn’t a residential area.

What were these two up to, first hiring a boat to secretly go to sea, and now sneaking out of the auction hall?

Feng Miaojun debated internally for a few moments, but ultimately curiosity won out, and she decided to follow them.

However, just as she started walking toward the door, the auctioneer on the stage brought out another item and announced loudly: “Divine Relic, Golden Branch Jade Dew, capable of dispelling all worldly curses, nine drops in total!”

Feng Miaojun’s footsteps halted. Suddenly she cared about nothing else, her mind circling those few words:

Capable of dispelling all worldly curses!

Could it truly remove all curses and ill fortune?

Her heart suddenly began pounding rapidly. Fu Lingchuan, Princess Changle, and whatever conspiracy might be unfolding—all were instantly forgotten.

If the auctioneer wasn’t exaggerating, wasn’t this exactly what she had been diligently seeking?

Lu Chuanying, who was following her, found it strange when she suddenly stopped. Just as he was about to speak, Feng Miaojun made a gesture, and he immediately fell silent.

Feng Miaojun turned around and saw the auctioneer on stage carefully opening a black wooden box.