Chapter 73: The Mysterious Necklace
Chapter 73: The Mysterious Necklace
One after another, the collection items were sold off. The host excitedly began introducing the next item.
“Next, the item we are displaying is a necklace. However, this necklace is not modern but an ancient artifact. Its style is very simple and ancient. Even experts could not determine its age.”
The host opened a wooden tray covered with red silk, revealing a metal necklace underneath. The chain was made of interlocking rings each half a finger wide, and below it hung a dull, disk-shaped pendant.
The entire necklace looked very plain and unremarkable, without any outstanding features. Compared to some of the previously displayed collection items, it was like comparing clouds to mud.
“Don’t be fooled by this necklace’s ordinary appearance—it has a very magical aspect. Experts once tried to analyze its composition and attempted to cut off a tiny piece for testing. But in the end, they found no way to damage this necklace.”
“No matter what methods they used, they couldn’t harm it in the slightest. They couldn’t even extract a tiny bit of dust from it. We suspect that there might be nothing on Earth capable of destroying it.”
“Perhaps someone with fate might encounter some opportunity through it. Who says that’s impossible?”
The host skillfully promoted it, managing to praise this plain and ancient necklace as something incredibly rare and hard to find on earth, as if it were a once-in-a-lifetime sight.
“Really? Is that true?”
Song Yuru and the other girls also became a bit curious. They craned their necks to get a clear look at the necklace. Xing Weilong also looked quite interested.
Lin Mu, however, let out a light laugh and shook his head. In his view, the necklace didn’t look special at all. He also didn’t believe that nothing could destroy it—maybe the host was just boasting.
Just as he was about to lower his head and take a sip of wine, his right hand suddenly trembled. Then, a wisp of black mist began to spread from his index finger. Luckily, the people around him were all focused on the stage, so no one noticed Lin Mu’s hand.
He discreetly hid his right hand under the table. Lin Mu found that he had suddenly lost control of that ring. Although he kept trying to make the ring hide its traces again, the black mist at his index finger continued to slowly gather.
After a short while, the black, ancient ring appeared on his index finger. The moment the ring became visible, Lin Mu’s heart suddenly raced wildly. An inexplicable urge guided his gaze, locking onto the necklace on the stage.
At first, Lin Mu didn’t understand what was happening. But after looking at the necklace on the stage, then at the ring on his hand, and repeating this a few times, an unbelievable thought suddenly flashed into his mind.
Could it be that this necklace was somehow connected to the ring?!
The ring was one of the ultimate treasures he had obtained only after exhausting all his strength and going through life-and-death hardships. Although he still couldn’t use the ring’s full power, it remained one of Lin Mu’s most important treasures.
There was a legend that had long circulated in the Cultivation World: along with the ring, there should be six other items. Only after gathering all seven items could they form the unique Ancient Immortal Set!
But after Lin Mu obtained the ring, even though he spared no effort in searching for the other components over the next ten thousand years, he never found any clues.
After all these years, the Ancient Immortal Set he possessed still consisted of only the ring.
Originally, with his cultivation having reached the Tribulation Transcendence Late Stage, he could already use some of the ring’s incredibly mystical functions. But now, having lost all his Cultivation Power, Lin Mu could only use its basic storage function.
Moreover, the space was extremely small, unable to hold any large items. It was barely better than nothing.
If the ring was truly reacting to the necklace, that would be enough to indicate that the necklace had an extraordinary origin. It might even be one of the Ancient Immortal Set items—the lost necklace!
Thinking of this, even with Lin Mu’s temperament, he couldn’t help but feel a bit excited. In a moment of loss of control, he actually crushed the wine glass in his hand.
With a loud bang, everyone at the table turned to look, and even a few people at the neighboring tables glanced over.
Seeing this, the girls quickly turned to grab tissues and wiped the table.
Ye Zixi asked with concern, “What’s wrong, A-Mu? Is your hand okay?”
“This glass is too fragile. How could it just shatter like that? It’s scary.”
Xing Weilong patted his chest and let out a soft sigh.
“Nothing, nothing, don’t worry.”
Lin Mu chuckled and took a tissue to help wipe the table. This time, he didn’t pay attention, and his right hand was suddenly exposed to everyone’s view.
“Hey? Where did this ring come from?”
Xing Weilong, sharp-eyed, was the first to notice the ring on Lin Mu’s right index finger. He clearly remembered that Lin Mu wasn’t wearing a ring earlier. How did a ring appear on his hand in the blink of an eye?
Then the three girls noticed it too. They all looked at Lin Mu, their eyes full of questions.
“This ring looks like it’s been around for some time. Where did you get it?”
Ye Zixi curiously moved closer, took Lin Mu’s right hand, and examined it carefully. The other two girls also leaned in curiously and observed it together.
Lin Mu wasn’t afraid they would notice anything. He casually smiled and said, “This is a ring my grandfather left me. I just never wore it before.”
“Today, since I knew we were coming to this Charity Banquet, I brought the ring with me. I just remembered it, so I put it on.”
Ye Zixi immediately burst out laughing.
“So you brought it specifically to show off?”
“Heh, I don’t have much money, so I can only bring out some antiques to boost my status.”
Lin Mu grinned awkwardly and scratched his nose.
“But even though this ring has a simple design, it looks very grand. It gives a feeling of great skill appearing simple. Its origin must be quite remarkable. Did your grandfather ever mention where it came from?”
Song Yuru examined it carefully, then looked at Lin Mu.
“Grandfather did mention it, but he didn’t go into detail. He just said he got it from a stranger and paid a huge sum before that person agreed to sell it to him.”
Lin Mu made up a casual reason to brush it off.
After glossing over their questions, Lin Mu subconsciously twisted the ring on his index finger, his eyes fixed on the necklace in the host’s hand on the stage.
After the host’s earlier promotion, the bidding in the audience had become very heated, with the price already reaching twenty million.
Originally, Lin Mu thought about asking his friends to help him bid for the necklace. But this thought only flashed through his mind before he dismissed it.
Having roughly guessed the necklace’s true origins, Lin Mu now believed that indeed nothing on Earth could destroy it—not even scratch it.
If it truly was a magic treasure once worn by an Ancient Immortal, even if Earth exploded, it would remain completely intact.
With such a peculiar quality, this necklace was bound to attract some people’s attention. Lin Mu didn’t want to obtain the necklace in front of a large crowd.
If he were to get it, he would have to find opportunities later to quietly acquire it. As for whether he could succeed, Lin Mu never doubted that.
“Fifty million!”
A steady voice came from the first row, doubling the original price of over twenty million and directly raising it to fifty million.
Lin Mu looked closely and saw it was indeed the person Xing Weilong had mentioned earlier—the current head of the Ao Family, Ao Shaolong.
As soon as Ao Shaolong spoke, the entire room fell silent. It seemed everyone knew what he was like, and no one competed with him.
After the host called the bid three times, it was finally sold for fifty million. The necklace was then announced as belonging to Ao Shaolong.
After the necklace was carefully taken away and escorted out of the banquet venue by specialized staff, the sense of connection in Lin Mu’s heart gradually weakened as the distance increased.
After a short while, Lin Mu found that he could control the ring again. With a slight thought, a black mist immediately rose from the ring’s surface.
Since everyone had already seen the ring, Lin Mu didn’t retract it this time but continued to wear it on his hand. After all, he wasn’t afraid of others noticing anything.
But that necklace had ended up in Ao Shaolong’s hands. It seemed obtaining the necklace would require more effort. If what Fatty said was true, then the Ao Family’s influence should not be underestimated.
Later, other collection items were displayed one after another, but none reached the level of that necklace. Lin Mu had no interest in paying attention to those ordinary items.
His mind was completely focused on the necklace that had suddenly appeared.
On a planet like Earth, where Spiritual Energy was weak and there seemed to be no history of advanced Cultivation civilizations, an Ancient Immortal Set item actually appeared here.
These magic treasures all had spirituality. Even if separated, they would find a place rich in Spiritual Energy to hide, which also helped preserve their own spirituality.
He had found the ring back then in a treasure land where Spiritual Energy had liquefied. Although the ring’s spirit seemed severely damaged and he had never been able to contact it over the years, the ring still chose such a treasure land to reside.
But the necklace was here on this unknown Earth, where Spiritual Energy was extremely sparse. Forget Ancient Immortal-level magic treasures—even ordinary magic treasures couldn’t exert more than ten to twenty percent of their power.
While the charity auction in the venue was in full swing, in a room on the second floor, Yan Langshi stood quietly behind the window, his eyes fixed on one person below.
If you followed his line of sight, you would see that the person being watched was actually Lin Mu.
At this moment, Lin Mu’s entire mind was focused on the suddenly appeared necklace. He didn’t notice at all that someone had been watching him for so long.
Standing behind the window, Yan Langshi took out his phone and calmly dialed a number.
“Green Snake, come here.”
After saying this one sentence, he hung up. Looking down at Lin Mu, who was still unaware, Yan Langshi gave a cold smile.
“Xiu’er is not someone you can touch. To prevent unnecessary trouble, I have to make you disappear.”
In about ten minutes, a figure flashed swiftly around the corner on the second floor. Then, Yan Langshi’s door opened gently and closed again without a sound.
Now, besides Yan Langshi, there was another person in the room.
This was a man with very delicate, almost feminine features. His Adam’s apple was barely noticeable, as if he had practiced some unique Martial Arts, giving his whole person a tendency toward femininity.
“Young master, what are your orders?”
“See that kid down there?”
Yan Langshi pointed at Lin Mu sitting below.
“I don’t want to hear any news about him tomorrow.”
A sharp glint flashed in Green Snake’s eyes as he looked at Lin Mu’s back and nodded lightly.
“No problem, young master. This person will definitely not see tomorrow’s sun.”
“Very good.”
Yan Langshi pointed to a small leather case placed to the side.
“Take it. After it’s done, go away and lay low for a while. Come back after some time.”
Green Snake took another careful look at Lin Mu, then picked up the case. With a flash, he disappeared from the room.
Not long after Green Snake left, Yan Langshi also left the room and then went to an unknown location.