Inside the flying carriage, the vibration was light and comfortable, but Morse's mind was boiling. Once he made sure the curtains were closed and he was alone, he relaxed in his seat and closed his eyes.
"You damn system... no more waiting. Show your interface now."
Suddenly, a semi-transparent screen of a pale blue color emerged before his eyes, with Yin and Yang symbols dancing upon it.
[ Supreme Yin-Yang System ]
[ Host: Morse Xuan ]
[ Status: Qi Channels (Damaged - 90%), Body (Weak) ]
[ Dual Cultivation Points: 0 ]
[ Chosen Path: Not yet determined ]
In the course of the novel... Morse remembered a character who was somewhat influential in the plot... specifically, someone from the Xuan family.
She was the family's only presence in the novel... Shen Li Xuan, who was a servant to the character Ni Ni Layan.
She became her servant as a gift to thank her for saving her fiancé. However, because Ni Ni Layan was utterly dissolute...
She forced Shen Li Xuan to have sex with twenty men to prove her loyalty. Then, she brought the fiancé to witness this scene while he was being "drained" by Ni Ni Layan.
And guess what... the fiancé of this girl was the future patriarch of the Xuan family, Bing Xuan.
The idea of Bing Xuan seizing the position of patriarch was annoying... but it was a reality. Thankfully, Morse had essentially abandoned that position due to the poisoning caused by the "Blood Child"—a demonic cultivation technique that every leader must learn.
Even though Morse knew all of this, his disability prevented him from participating in the plot, causing him to survive a fate worse than death.
The map in his hand indicated that they were very close. Why had they approached so quickly?
Morse would not stop directly at the mountain where Ni Ni Layan was in seclusion. First, he had to stop in Lin Province.
"Bimong Auction... The Phoenix Feather."
The key item to finding the Phoenix was a piece of her own feather. Layan had once gifted one of her feathers to an old man who helped her.
Now, to find her location without searching for a long time, he had to obtain that Phoenix Feather.
In the sky of the glorious Lin Province, in the north of the Sky-Refining Empire... a carriage appeared, pulled by magical horses that flew through the sky and leaped through their surroundings.
It descended very smoothly in a dazzling manner, landing at a building labeled "Private Property of the Xuan Clan."
Morse landed with his carriage inside their mansion, which was built in an extremely luxurious Chinese style. The carriage reached the ground, and the wheels settled.
The magical horses neighed, while Morse finally stepped out in his clothes that were still damp.
His feet touched the ground as he headed directly toward the door across from him, up the stairs that led to the mansion's gate.
But just as he was about to pass, the guards standing at the gate lowered their sharp, spear-like weapons directly in front of Morse, stopping him from entering without even blinking.
As if this were the most natural thing in the world.
"Oh... it seems you are preventing me from entering my own private property..."
Yes, this was Morse's private mansion. He had paid his own money to buy it; every gold tael had come from his own pocket.
"Pardon us... Morse is forbidden from entering Xuan Clan property without direct permission from the clan leadership or the legal heir."
Morse... just "Morse"... without "Young Master." They were preventing him from entering his own property and calling it the property of the Xuan Clan. What the hell? Besides, he was the legal heir of this family.
"Do you know who you are talking to? I am the owner of this damn house! I paid every cent for it, and none of those power-hungry bastards at the family headquarters had a single coin in this. By what right do you say this? You, the son of the housekeeper, Ding..."
Before he could finish his outburst of anger, an extremely fat and short woman arrived. She wore very tight clothes that accentuated her filthy curves, with cheap red lipstick and a black mole in the middle of her oily face.
"Hello, Morse. Why are you causing chaos? I always knew you were basically just a troublemaker. Get out of here before the guards throw you out. Let me be lenient with you."
Lenient? Morse? Had everyone forgotten who he was?
"Do you know who you are speaking to? I am Morse Xuan, the legal heir of the Xuan Clan and the owner here. You won't get away with this."
But he saw no noticeable effect on the features of the housekeeper, Ding. Instead, she smiled a disgusting, greasy smile and laughed.
"You young people have a fun sense of humor. It seems you don't know that Young Master Bing is the legal owner of this mansion now... and your presence here requires his permission."
That damn Bing... how could these bastards steal his house before his very eyes? He specifically owned this mansion; the money for it had been a birthday gift from his mother. How could they dare?
"You will go to hell for your words... you not living under this sky with me again. How in the hell are you stealing my house? I have the ownership papers, I will call the authorities!"
The response came quickly.
"You can't... because the contract for this place states that the owner of this mansion is the legal heir of the clan. And you are not the legal heir due to your inability to cultivate ever again."
They had reached the point of no return with him... He would enter his house no matter what. They wouldn't dare harm the eldest son of the Clan Head, right?
But Morse was wrong. He was physically thrown out, his body tossed completely outside his own home. Even his carriage was seized and not returned.
With no shelter and no way back, he now had to obtain the Phoenix Feather no matter the cost.
In the city center sat the Rare Items Auction of the Hyung Family—one of the largest auctions in Lin Province. It was a place where every child from a wealthy family found themselves spending a fortune on shiny trinkets.
Here, you might find a true cultivation treasure that could make you powerful... or a wild flower that would devour you... or even a piece of dung picked up by a lucky protagonist that grows into a World Tree Fairy.
Here, you find the unexpected. As Morse entered the crowd of the wealthy, he moved among the tables, searching for the Phoenix Feather amidst the strange items scattered here and there.
As he searched, he found peculiar items standing out, like the "Haunted House Flowerpot."
Legends say it was a regular flowerpot that became highly enchanted because of the Soul-Eater flower that used to be inside it, but once the plant was removed, the pot became ordinary again.
There were also types of flutes that helped attract women... "What the hell? Why am I focusing on these trifles? Where is the feather?"
He remembered it was sold here, but he didn't know if it was sold in the main auction or on the side tables.
The worst possibility was that it had already been taken before he arrived.
Morse shook off his thoughts and continued his search. While he was hunting, the auction officially began. The auctioneer stood at the podium, and everyone took their designated seats.
Morse sat there, extremely tense. His mind was boiling with the anxiety caused by overthinking. Everything... absolutely everything depended on this moment.
As the auction opened, the host smiled and presented the first items, which didn't pique Morse's interest at all.
"A wine cup made for the daughter of Princess Ming Ming, Shen Min, along with her personal handkerchief. Starting at one gold tael."
They were truly bankrupt; all they were preserving was the title of the princess's daughter. Whoever bought it would simply be some kind of pervert.
And indeed, his assumption was correct.
"Five gold taels!"
The item was bought by an extremely obese young man wearing golden clothes. He was smiling, looking at the handkerchief with pure lust.
It was the greasy Su Tian, the son of a well-known merchant family... famous for his gluttony and immense perversion.
He practically snatched up every item starting from one gold tael up to fifty. He found no rival; these were items targeted by those without high purchasing power, but he took them simply because he could.
And because he enjoyed it.
As Morse glanced at the time he had spent there, the feather was still nowhere to be found. He realized only three items remained. Just as he was about to give up and leave, the feather finally appeared.
"A mysterious feather carrying a high quality of Yang energy... It has many benefits, the most notable being that it enhances... s-e-x-u-a-l potency. Starting at fifty gold taels."
Morse heard those words from the announcer in slow motion. Immediately, bids began pouring in from every direction.
"1,000 gold taels!"
"10,000 gold taels!"
"15,000 gold taels!"
These bids completely drowned out Morse's hopes.
Until the greasy Su Tian raised his hand.
"25,000 gold taels."
"Congratulations to Mr. Su Tian once again!"
He had ended it all so simply... But wait, Morse had an extremely limited edition volume of his erotic comic books. Could he trade them for the feather?
But it was impossible... the value of any erotic magazine, no matter what it was, would never exceed 2 silver taels.
How could it ever be compared to a feather bought for 25,000 gold taels?