Kumpulannya di Inn tidak bisa disebut paling elit di alam semesta, namun tak bisa disangkal bahwa di antara keramaian ada kekuatan yang menyentuh tingkat tertinggi alam semesta — meski tamu-tamu spesifik itu sendiri baru di tingkat Celestial Immortal.
Mereka semua telah terpapar pemandangan dan rahasia yang tak tercapai tanpa dukungan level yang cukup. Oleh karena itu, bahkan lingkungan dan atmosfer yang mengesankan, sumber daya kaya, dan keanekaragaman Midnight Realm yang lebih kaya lagi hanya memenuhi ekspektasi, bukan mengesankan.
Bukan berarti itu merendahkan Midnight Inn — jauh dari itu. Hanya saja mereka punya pemahaman dan ekspektasi spesifik dari organisasi level Midnight Inn, dan apa yang mereka lihat hanya cocok dengannya.
Jika Innkeeper dianggap Dao Lord biasa, Inn pasti akan mengesankan mereka. Tapi dia bukan, jadi tidak. Begitulah adanya.
Faktanya, mereka bahkan punya pemahaman spesifik soal lelang — meski Wu Kong mendengus mendengar gagasan itu. Kalau Innkeeper mengeluarkan inti Phantasm di lelang ini, setiap immortal di situ akan menginjak kencing ketakutan. Tapi tamu-tamu tidak tahu. Mereka datang dengan ekspektasi tertentu.
Jadi fakta bahwa kedatangan wanita dari balik tirai berdampak begitu besar berbicara banyak.
Dia berpakaian merah menyala dari kepala ke kaki. Bukan cuma gaun merah, tapi tapestri api — gaun elegan yang kayak ranun mawar terbakar. Kain bergoyang mengikuti langkahnya, masing-masing sengaja, seolah dia dapet nikmat tak terkira dari sekadar berjalan.
Rambutnya warna merah delima sama, bergelombang lembut ke punggung dan bahu satu sisi. Membingkai wajahnya kayak mahkota bingkai alis ratu — tapi dia benar-benar pakai tiara kecil di atas kepala merah delima, permata merahnya berkilau di cahaya.
Kecantikannya tak tergoyahkan, tapi tidak lembut. Jenis kecantikan yang membisukan ruangan. Jenis yang memperlambat waktu, menginspirasi penyair nulis, pelukis melukis, dan pemimpi bermimpi. Jenis yang bisa bikin arena lelang kagum hingga termangu.
Wanita misterius itu tersenyum, dan di senyumnya ada kebaikan — hangat, terbuka, menaklukkan. Menyentuh udara dan bikin lebih ringan. Sejenak, dia cuma terlihat cantik, memikat, kayak tamu pesta topeng cuma senang kehadirannya dilihat. Di senyumnya ada kegembiraan — kegembiraan hidup, kegembiraan segala yang baik dan suci, dan kegembiraan yang hanya diketahui orang yang telah melihat kedalaman putus asa mutlak. Kegembiraan orang yang telah hidup.
Semua tentang dia merah — setiap benang, setiap kilauan, setiap anjuran — kecuali sarung tangannya. Putih. Bersih. Lembut. Berkilau kayak porselen di lautan karmim, dan karena itu, menarik perhatian paling banyak. Hanya alasan itu, merebut perhatian terbanyak.
Tapi saat mata tertarik ke sarung tangan, seluruh penonton — setiap orang, termasuk Wu Kong — sadar kalau bukan kontras tajam sarung tangan yang memecah mantra karmim kehadirannya, mereka tetap terpesona oleh wajahnya.
Penonton keheranan dan tarik napas dalam-dalam saat sadar apa yang terjadi. Dia tidak punya aura, tidak punya kultivasi. Kayak proyeksi berdiri di hadapan mereka. Tapi bahkan tanpa aura, dia punya kehadiran tak tergoyahkan.
Dia badai api dan amukan berdiri di tengah, tapi juga mawar merah sederhana di padang rumput sunyi. Tak ada tentang dia yang bicara soal jabatannya selain tiara, tapi itu cuma hiasan modis. Itu tidak berarti tak ada yang paham jabatannya. Gimana mungkin tidak?
Midnight Inn salah satu tempat langka di alam semesta di mana paparan aura Dao Lord tidak membunuh fana, dan melumpuhkan immortal, tapi bahkan tanpa aura Dao, gimana mungkin mereka tidak mengenali Dao Lord?
Mereka yang tidak di puncak ranah Celestial dan di atasnya tidak tahu kenapa Dao Lord spesial, tapi semua tahu tiap Dao Lord makhluk kekuatan tak terbayangkan, dan kekuatan itu tidak didapat main-main. Alam semesta sendiri mengenali tiap Dao Lord, jadi bahkan tanpa aura mereka, tanpa kekuatan mereka, bahkan kalau fragmen terkecil kemampuan mereka dipakai buat conjure klon, pengakuan itu tetap menempel.
Apalagi, wanita karmim jelas bukan fragmen belaka. Ada sikap tak terjelaskan, tak tergambarkan tentang dia yang menandai dia sebagai orang yang mendapat pengakuan tertinggi alam semesta.
Dia bukan cuma Dao Lord — dia salah satu yang sangat dikasihi alam semesta.
Dia mengambil tempat di tengah panggung. Pendekatannya bertahap, tapi seluruh penonton merasa kayak dia baru saja teleport ke posisinya.
Wu Kong menelan ludah. Dia pernah lihat dia sebelumnya, sebagai proyeksi kecil yang muncul sesekitar di sekitar pekerja Inn. Gimana dia harus tahu dia Dao Lord juga? Dan yang bisa sembunyikan aura darinya?
Monyet itu mengeringkan keringat di alisnya. Dan alam semesta menyebut dia tidak masuk akal. Cuma karena mereka belum pernah habiskan waktu di dekat Innkeeper. Orang itu benar-benar suka main game.
Wanita merah itu ambil mic, seolah butuh benda itu, danangkat ke arahnya.
"Halo semuanya," ucapnya, suaranya ceria penuh energi. "Namaku Mary, dan aku akan jadi lelangmu hari ini. Kuharap kalian semua nikmatin acara kecil yang Innkeeper siapkan buat kalian."
Hampir seratus Celestial Immortal menelan ludah serentak. Tak satu pun tahu apakah mereka punya nyali... tawar saat Dao Lord menggelar lelang. Atau apakah mereka harus tawar semua yang mereka punya? Mereka tidak yakin.
"Kayaknya Mary akhirnya main juga," kata Nemo sambil berenang ke pipi Liz dan mengawasi panggung.
"Kamu kenal dia?" Tanya Liz heran.
"Oh ya. Dia sering nongkrong sama Lex. Dia baik sekali."
Liz tiba-tiba menyipitkan mata, pikirannya misteri saat meneliti wanita di panggung. Tiba-tiba, dia tidak terlihat secantik sebentar lalu.
The gathering at the Inn could not be called the most elite in the universe, yet it was undeniable that among the crowd were powers that touched the highest levels of the universe - even if the specific guests themselves were merely in the Celestial Immortal level.
They had all been exposed to sights and secrets the likes of which one could not even reach without a sufficient level of backing. As such, even the impressive environment and atmosphere, the rich resources and even richer variety of the Midnight Realm merely matched expectations instead of impressing.
Not that such a thing was a slight to the Midnight Inn - far from it. It was just that they had a specific understanding and expectation from an organization at the level of the Midnight Inn, and what they saw merely matched it.
If the Innkeeper were considered an ordinary Dao Lord, then the Inn would surely have impressed them. But he wasn’t, so it didn’t. That’s just how things were.
In fact, they even had a specific understanding of what to expect from the auction - though Wu Kong snorted at that notion. If the Innkeeper were to pull out that Phantasm core at this auction, every single one of those immortals would soil themselves out of fear. But the guests didn’t know that. They had come with certain expectations.
So the fact, then, that the arrival of the lady from behind the curtain had such an impact spoke volumes.
She was dressed entirely in crimson. It was not just a red dress, but a tapestry of fire - an elegant gown that looked like a bed of burning roses. The fabric swayed with her steps, each one deliberate, as if she drew indescribable pleasure from the mere act of walking.
Her hair was the same scarlet hue, tumbling in soft waves down her back and over one shoulder. It framed her face like a crown would frame a queen’s brow - except she actually wore a petite tiara above her crimson head, its rubies sparkling in the light.
Her beauty was undeniable, but it wasn’t soft. It was the kind of beauty that silenced a room. It was the kind of beauty that slowed time, that inspired poets to write, painters to paint, and dreamers to dream. It was the kind of beauty that could stun an auction arena into stillness.
The mystery woman smiled, and in that smile lived kindness - warm, open, disarming. It touched the air and made it lighter. For a moment, she looked merely beautiful, charming even, like a guest at a masquerade just happy to be seen. In that smile was joy - the joy of being alive, the joy of everything that was good and holy, and the joy that could only be known by someone who had seen the absolute depths of despair. It was the joy of someone who had lived .
Everything about her was red - every thread, every glint, every suggestion - except her gloves. White. Clean. Soft. They gleamed like porcelain in the sea of crimson, and for that, they drew every eye. For that reason alone, they stole the most attention.
Yet as the eyes were drawn to the gloves, the entire audience - every single one of them, including Wu Kong - realized that if it hadn’t been for the stark contrast of the gloves breaking the scarlet spell her presence had cast over them, they would have remained enamored by her visage.
The audience gasped and drew deep breaths as they realized what had happened. She had no aura, no cultivation. It was as if she were a mere projection standing in front of them. Yet even without her aura, she had a presence that was undeniable.
She was a tornado of fire and fury standing in the midst, yet she was also a simple red rose in a silent meadow. Nothing about her spoke of her station save the tiara, though that was merely there as a fashionable ornament. That did not mean that none understood her station. How could they not?
The Midnight Inn was one of the few places in the universe where exposure to the aura of a Dao Lord would not kill a mortal, and cripple and immortal, but even without the aura of Dao, how could they not recognize a Dao Lord?
Those who were not at the very peak of the Celestial realm and above would not know why a Dao Lord was special, but they all knew that each Dao Lord was a being of unimaginable power, and such power wasn’t lightly attained. The universe itself recognized each Dao Lord, so even without their aura, even without their power, even if the smallest imaginable fragment of their ability was used to conjure a clone, that recognition would stay with them.
Let alone, the crimson lady was clearly not a mere fragment. There was an inexplicable, indescribable mien about her that marked her as someone who had gained the highest recognition of the universe.
She was not just a Dao Lord - she was one especially beloved by the universe.
She took her place at the center of the stage. Her approach had been gradual, yet the entire audience felt like she had just teleported to her position.
Wu Kong gulped. He had seen her before, as a tiny projection that appeared from time to time around some of the Inn workers. How was he supposed to know she was a Dao Lord too? And one who could even hide her aura from him?
The monkey wiped the sweat off his brow. And the universe called him unreasonable. It was only because they hadn’t spent any time around the Innkeeper. That guy really liked to play games.
The lady in red grabbed a mic, as if she needed such a thing, and raised it to herself.
"Hello everyone," she said, her voice cheerful and full of energy. "My name is Mary, and I’ll be your auctioneer today. I hope you all enjoy this little event that the Innkeeper has prepared for you."
Almost a hundred Celestial Immortals gulped simultaneously. None of them knew if they had the guts... to bid while a Dao Lord was holding the auction. Or were they supposed to bid everything they had? They weren’t sure.
"Looks like Mary is finally having some fun too," said Nemo as he swam up to Liz’s cheek and watched the stage.
"You know her?" Liz asked in surprise.
"Oh yeah. She hangs out with Lex all the time. She’s very nice."
Liz suddenly narrowed her eyes, her thoughts a mystery as she scrutinized the lady on the stage. Suddenly, she didn’t look nearly as beautiful as she did a moment ago.
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