Chapter 463
"No wonder . . . "
Zhang Xuan shook his head .
If this auction hall was operated by them, they would have been able to arrange a meeting between him and the buyer; his chances of getting the Soulless Metal Humanoid would've been much higher .
"Have you all appraised the Soulless Metal Humanoid? May I know the story behind it?"
Since the auction hadn't begun yet, Zhang Xuan asked about the Soulless Metal Humanoid .
After receiving the five thousand spirit stones reward, he'd repaid the loan he borrowed from Hall Master Sai and compensated him with an additional hundred spirit stones .
Thus, he had a total of 4800 spirit stones on hand at the moment . Even though Hall Master Sai was rather confident that it was sufficient for him to take away the Soulless Metal Humanoid, Zhang Xuan still felt that he should listen to the details to make a judgement himself .
"Alright!"
Hall Master Sai nodded . "Around a month ago, an elder came to the Appraiser Hall and requested that I appraise an artifact . The artifact seems to have been forged out of gold, and it's shaped like a puppet . After much assessment and contemplation, I determined that it is the legendary Soulless Metal Humanoid . I sought Elder Lu and Elder Chen's opinions on the matter before coming to a final verdict!
"That metal humanoid is incomparably resilient, and most probably, it was crafted by having a human swallow metal while they were still alive before proceeding to use a special secret art to forge the puppet . Its body is wholesome, thus preventing the slightest bit of aura from leaking out . A formation is constructed within its body, and one can control it through spirit stones . In terms of strength, it possesses a might comparable to a Transcendent Mortal 3-dan expert . "
"While they were alive . . . Was the Soulless Metal Humanoid crafted out of real human bodies?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback .
He had only heard about soul oracles from Pavilion Master Luo so he wasn't too sure about the details . When he heard about the Soulless Metal Humanoid, he thought that it would be a man-made object just like those puppets he met in the Master Teacher Pavilion when he was taking the master teacher examination . However, Sai Xiaoyu's words seemed to hint at something very different .
"Of course it isn't . Man-made puppets, just like other crafted tools, will gain spirit over time . As such, it's impossible for a human's soul to delve in it . Even if one managed to do it, one's control over the puppet would still be lacking . This is similar to weapons and armor; even though they are convenient to use, one still isn't able to manipulate it as easily as one's own limbs . " Hall Master Sai said .
Zhang Xuan nodded .
No matter how adept one was in using tools, it could never match up to the level of control one had over one's own limbs . A man-made puppet followed the same rule as well . Even if one could drive it with one's soul, one wouldn't be able to move it as seamlessly as one's own body .
"However, the Soulless Metal Humanoid is different . It's crafted using the body of a living human coated with metal . Not only is its defensive and offensive capability impressive, more importantly . . . it can contain a soul perfectly, making it easy for a cultivator to drive it . Legend has it that even though soul oracles had outstanding control over their souls, their physical bodies were extremely weak . As such, they possessed such powerful physical bodies with their souls to grant them immense power, thus making them a subject of fear . " Hall Master Sai explained .
Zhang Xuan finally came to a realization, and he was astounded .
To craft a living human into a puppet to protect oneself . . . This occupation sure was bizarre and vile .
"The reputation of soul oracles was put alongside poison masters in ancient times, they were the two most feared occupations . It is said that soul oracles, with their powerful souls, could forcibly extract a cultivator's soul from his body and forge a Soulless Metal Humanoid through their empty body . In fact, some of the more powerful soul oracles were even able to create a fearsome army of metal humanoids . "
Hall Master Sai continued, "This was the reason why it was struck down by the other occupations . The Master Teacher Pavilion personally led the other occupations on a crusade against it and destroyed the soul oracles, thus terminating their heritage . I only learned of the existence of the Soulless Metal Humanoid by flipping through innumerable ancient books . Otherwise, I would have probably just thought of it as an ordinary puppet . "
Suppressing his anxiety, Zhang Xuan asked, "I heard that this occupation . . . possesses the ability to wake dormant souls . May I know if it's true?"
Even though Luo Qianhong was a 3-star master teacher, his knowledge of this subject was definitely inferior to Hall Master Sai . Thus, Hall Master Sai's evaluation was likely to be much more accurate .
"The soul is a very complicated and profound subject . Only 7-star master teachers would begin to dabble in the subject . Otherwise, no matter how strong one was, even if one were a Transcendent Mortal 9-dan pinnacle expert, one wouldn't dare to touch in this field . The only exception to this rule are the soul oracles! Those of this occupation could even extract the soul from a living body, so waking a dormant soul should be a simple feat to them . " Hall Master Sai replied with a grim expression .
Upon hearing the other party confirm the matter, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief .
"Alright, the auction is starting!"
While the duo was speaking, a commotion had sounded below . Turning around to take a look, the host was already on the stage .
Taking a closer look, the host was no other than Elder Chen .
As a 4-star appraiser, an elder of the Appraiser Hall, his words felt more credible and persuasive, and in such auctions, trust was an important factor to hiking up the prices .
"The items on auction today cover weapons, armors, antiques, paintings, celestial treasures, the ancient Soulless Metal Humanoid, and such, totaling up to a number of 35 artifacts . Every single one of them has been approved by the Appraiser Hall, and we can guarantee their authenticity . "
Elder Chen's gaze swept across the crowd with majesty .
As soon as he reached the stage, he turned into that indomitable 4-star appraiser . Not a hint of that fellow who was forced to a corner by Sun Qiang and ended up spurting blood about remained .
"35 artifacts? So many?"
"Of course, the auction of the Appraiser Hall is only conducted once a year . As such, all of the artifacts put up for sale are invaluable treasures!"
"I've prepared a very long time for this auction, there are some things among the 35 artifacts that I'm determined to get . . . "
. . .
After hearing the introduction, the crowd fell into a commotion .
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