It was night. Despite its recent destruction and the bloody storm still brewing around Chen Cang, Dragonmount City remained as lively and busy as ever. Every street was adorned with beautiful lights and overflowing with traffic as if it was daytime.


    No one seemed to be in the mood of enjoying the nightlife, however. They were all looking up into the sky as if waiting for something.


    <em>THANG!</em>


    It was 7.30 pm sharp when suddenly, the crisp chime of a bell rang from somewhere. It grew louder and louder until the entire Dragonmount City could hear it.


    As the bell chimed,mp mes and bright lights flew out of every household and into the sky. They joined into a sea of fire at the center.


    Lampfire from ten thousand households left ten thousand households,


    Light spanning ten thousand meters illuminating ten thousand meters.


    The sea of mes covered the whole sky and looked positively gorgeous. If the lighting only felt like daytime before, now it felt like the middle of the day.


    Strangely, the sea of mes were neither scorching hot nor ring. Instead, it was warm,forting, and dreamlike.The next moment, countless auspicious beasts such as a fire dragon, a phoenix, a <em>qilin</em>, a white tiger and more emerged from the sea of mes. They were as colorful as they were beautiful.


    The auspicious beasts stood guard as a grand, mysterious pce slowly emerged from the center of the sea of mes. When it fully emerged, the auspicious beasts flew to various parts of the pce and transformed into murals, sculptures, engravings and more, adding even more ir to the pce than it already had.


    “Ten thousandmps may manifest a celestial pce… impressive!”


    Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou were standing on the streets just like the others. Ye Qing in particr was staring at the floating pce with astonishment and wonder.


    It wasn’t just him. Nearly everyone in Dragonmount City was wearing more or less the same reaction.


    There was no doubt about it. The pce was where the Dragonmount Meet would be held.


    “The Dragonmount Meet is one of the biggest events of the Yannan <em>wulin</em>. It is only natural that it would stand out among others.”


    Feng Qingyou exined with a calm smile on her face, “In fact, this pce is a Disaster-ss Strange Artifact called the Lampfire Pce.”


    “The Lampfire Pce is created from the body of the Disaster-ss Stranger, Ten Thousand Lamps. When manifested, it can amodate over ten thousand guests and boasts defense simr to that of a military fortress, which makes it difficult to break through from the outside. Jointly owned by the major tradingpanies that organized the Dragonmount Meet, it normally wasn’t used unless for grand events such as this one.”


    “Lampfire Pce, huh? It certainly lives up to its namesake.”


    Ye Qing nodded. He didn’t know about the Lampfire Pce, but he definitely heard of the Ten Thousand Lamps.


    Ten Thousand Lamps was a Disaster-ss Stranger born from the myriad desires of red dust and manifested from themplights of many households. It didn’t have a definite form and could transform into anything and everything. It fed onmps and people’s desires, and wherever it went, lights winked out, and people became devoid of desire.


    At first listen, Ten Thousand Lamps sounded pretty harmless. In reality, it was easily one of the deadliest Strangers out there. All mortals naturally possessed Seven Emotions and Six Desires, and that was what the Ten Thousand Lamps fed. A mortal whose emotions and desires had been consumed by the Ten Thousand Lamps would be emotionless and desireless. They would not eat, they would not drink, they would not even sleep because the desire to do so simply wasn’t there. In the end, the victims would die from exhaustion, starvation or thirst.


    Countless lives were lost wherever the Ten Thousand Lamps emerged. Even worse, as Ten Thousand mes was born from mortal desires and manifested frommpfire, it was unkible so long as desire existed. That was why Ten Thousand Lamps were usually sealed or suppressed, but never killed.


    Somehow, the ingenious creator of the Lampfire Pce was able to refine the Ten Thousand Lamps into a Strange Artifact. Whoever they were, they must be quite extraordinary.


    <em>Buzz…</em>


    Suddenly, some of the crowd suddenly caught on fire. They looked exactly the same as the Lampfire Pce’s me.


    Like paper, these people slowly burned into ash and scattered into nothing. It was disturbing to say the least.


    No one showed signs of fear or panic, however. On the contrary, the onlookers were looking at the “victims” with envious looks on their faces.


    It was because the “victims” hadn’t actually burned to death. They had simply been transported into the Lampfire Pce thanks to the token they obtained.


    As a matter of course, the participation token of the Dragonmount Meet was specially made. As it was really part of the Lampfire Pce, it was impossible to forge in any way. It was also why it was named the Lampfire Token. Only those with a Lampfire Token were allowed to enter the Lampfire Pce. Once the Dragonmount Meet was over, the Lampfire Pce would automatically retrieve the tokens.


    More and more people were burning into ash and entering the Lampfire Pce. From a bystander’s perspective, it was quite the impressive sight.


    “Let’s go.”


    Ye Qing looked at Feng Qingyou, and Feng Qingyou nodded. With a thought, they burst into mes and slowly disappeared into nothing.


    When ye Qing regained his consciousness, he discovered that he was standing in a pavilion. The pavilion was luxuriously furnished, and there was a table and two chairs near the windows. Delicious wine, fruits and snacks were ced on the table, and those sitting on the chairs would be able to see outside.


    Through the windows, one could see a tall tform that was made purely from mes. Surrounding the tform was a sea of mes, and floating in the sea of mes like boats were countless other pavilions and private rooms. Strangely, their shapes were indistinct and constantly changing from time to time. It was also impossible to see into the structures.


    Ye Qing had no doubt that the pavilion they were in were the same as the pavilions and private rooms outside.


    “This Lampfire Pce is seriously something,” Ye Qing remarked while examining the incredible scenery outside.


    “The pavilion we’re currently in is called the Lampfire Pavilion, and its position is constantly shifting inside the sea of mes. But no matter how much it shifts, you can always see the Lampfire Tower—the trading tform—through the windows.”


    Feng Qingyou exined, “To ensure a customer’s privacy and safety, all participants are forbidden from looking into another pavilion or private room and discovering the other person’s identity. Besides that, when bidding is ensuing, the customers’ voices would be distorted so that it was impossible to identify someone through voice. Again, it is to ensure a customer’s privacy and safety and keep the unnecessary trouble to a minimum.”


    “In summary, it is generally safe to bid and participate in the auction.”


    “So far, it looks like the Dragonmount Meet deserves its reputation.” Ye Qing nodded in agreement. “


    The duo would continue to make conversation with each other until a bell chime sounded again. Then, an attractive woman wearing a long red dress appeared on the Lampfire Tower. She looked to be in her thirties, but her beautiful countenance and an hourss figure more than made up for it.


    After the woman appeared, she performed a Wanfu Salute[1] and smiled. “Ladies and gentlemen, I humbly wee you all to the Lampfire Pce and the Dragonmount Meet. I am Zui Yun, and I am your host tonight.”


    Ye Qing recognized the red-dressed woman on the tform and voiced his puzzlement, “Hmm? Isn’t she the boss of the Zui Yun Pavilion?”


    Zui Yun Pavilion was a famous and massive tradingpany in Dragonmount City. In fact, they were the ones who sold him the Thousand Frost me. The Thousand Frost me was an extremely rare and valuable item, which was why the boss herself, Zui Yun, had chosen to oversee the trade in person. That was why he recognized her immediately.


    “Zui Yun Pavilion is one of the organizers of the Dragonmount Meet, and she is the boss. It’s unsurprising that she would make an appearance.”


    Feng Qingyou answered, “What is surprising is that someone like Zui Yun would choose to y the host for the Dragonmount Meet. This has almost never happened before as the responsibility is usually beneath her.”


    “Maybe she had too much idle time in her hands?” Ye Qing joked. He did not think that Zui Yun’s appearance was of any concern.


    Zui Yun went through the usual ramblings all hosts were expected to give. A long timeter, she finally announced the start of the Dragonmount Meet.


    Zui Yun waved her hand, and a wisp of mes carrying a y pot floated into the air.


    The y pot was grayish back, motley, and covered in soil. It looked like it had just been dug out of the ground.


    Ye Qing could sense that it was emanating a kind of anomalous aura though. The soil especially was thick with yin energy.


    1. In ancient times, women saluted with the right palm and left fist. This was known as the (Wanfu Salute). ?