After the Diviner accepted the portrait and made a guarantee to “mobilize resources to help search,” the discussion about the mysterious woman naturally came to a temporary halt.

Of course, no matter how powerful the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild is, they would never be able to find the actual person in the painting.

Not to mention the existence of 【Dominion of the Fox Mask】, finding someone from a mere painting among the countless billions of beings in the Holy Empire and the entire world is unrealistic.

Mainly, this world doesn’t have photographs, and since the painting wasn’t made in front of Miss Priestess herself, it’s hard to say it truly resembles Violet. At most, it captures a bit of her expression and the main features of her black hair and white robe.

If Miss Priestess has any sisters or other relatives, it’s entirely possible they might be mistaken for the person in the painting.

Clearly, as Yuna said, relying solely on the vague memories of an ordinary ferryman to accurately reproduce someone’s appearance from just one fleeting encounter is undoubtedly a pipe dream. Achieving this level of detail already indicates a remarkable impression and the artist’s exceptional skill.

While the three above were chatting casually, the sale below continued smoothly and in an orderly manner. The treasures appearing were increasingly valuable, with even a somewhat obscure spirit-tier equipment making a significant stir at the event.

Indeed, although Violet has encountered many powerful figures in this world so far, truly high-quality equipment remains extremely rare, with a significant gap in between.

Silvester, who calls herself a Summoning Alchemist and whom Violet met in the Ten Thousand Demons Mountains, possesses the ability to craft equipment of Spirit-tier Artifact quality or higher. However, she later revealed that this was actually a technique she learned from others.

This individual is also the creator of the mysterious equipment 【Deceive the Heavens】, which has special effects that cannot be precisely determined by the 【Information Detection】 skill. He is one of the true members of the Twilight Council, but due to certain contractual restrictions, Silvester is unable to disclose more information about him.

Aside from this, Violet hasn’t encountered many rare pieces of equipment. Weapons from gods, like the 【Demon God’s Gem】, are aside. Even in the Human United Kingdom, a major world power ranking among the top five, there are only three known Spirit-tier treasures on the surface.

After her coronation, a certain queen privately told Violet that the royal treasury of the Human United Kingdom actually holds several powerful and secret treasures, each at least of Spirit-tier Artifact level or higher. Even she, upon becoming queen, only discovered this after entering the treasury herself. She even secretly asked someone if they wanted to pick one out to use temporarily… and so on.

However, this does not change the fact that high-level equipment is quite scarce in this world. Therefore, for the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild to be able to directly sell Spirit-tier treasures, no matter how obscure or expensive, is already a remarkable achievement.

It’s worth noting that today’s event is just a regular quarterly sale, not a special limited auction. Even so, that Spirit-tier treasure is still not the highlight of the auction, the real main event is yet to come.

“Next, we have the final item of this sale. I’m sure many of you from around the world… have come specifically for this, right? Haha, without further ado, let’s get started!”

Without much fanfare, the young auctioneer from the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild snapped his fingers. The bright magical lights in the hall abruptly went out, replaced by a single exceptionally bright spotlight focusing on him.

Beneath the spotlight, a round pedestal slowly emerged from the ground, holding an object covered with a red cloth, no larger than an adult’s hand.

The handsome auctioneer reached for the red cloth, slowly unveiling it while announcing in a professionally dramatic tone, amplified throughout the hall:

“The legendary treasure of one of the Four Demon Lords, the King of Corruption—The 【Bewitching Orb】!”

“……?”

Upon hearing this designation, Violet almost instinctively glanced at the nearby Bright Light Saintess, only to see her calmly seated with her usual gentle smile, unperturbed, as if she already knew that the final item would be this.

Well, this is certainly intriguing.

The Spirit Veil Merchant Guild must have some powerful connections to dare openly auction a demon’s treasure in the Western Capital of the Holy Empire, in the castle of the Bright Light Saintess. The key is that Saintess Yuna, knowing this, remains indifferent?

This practically signals “something fishy.”

Meanwhile, the auctioneer’s subsequent explanation continued to be amplified and reached the ears of Miss Priestess:

“As everyone knows, demons are the Holy Empire’s number one enemy throughout history. They are insidious, cunning, and cruel, with methods that are mysterious and unpredictable. Among them, the Demon Lords of 【Chaos】, 【Slaughter】, 【Corruption】, and 【Defilement】 are the most notorious. I believe everyone here has some understanding of them, so I won’t elaborate further.”

“And this 【Bewitching Orb】 is a treasure of the King of Corruption. While the Chamber cannot definitively rate its specific quality, the power of this treasure is indeed horrifying.”

Pausing slightly to pique the audience’s curiosity, the auctioneer then spoke clearly:

“The demon race is diverse, and each of the Four Demon Lords represents a distinctive faction. The King of Corruption primarily symbolizes the Succubus race.”

“Compared to most powerful demon types, succubi are recognized as the weakest in direct combat at their level. However, their exceptional abilities to seduce, disguise, and manipulate minds make them the most outstanding among their kind. These creatures often infiltrate enemy lines in large battles to conduct covert sabotage. Perhaps… some of the local guests here have already encountered them and witnessed the power of their seduction techniques?”

“And this 【Bewitching Orb】 is said to be crafted by the King of Corruption himself, an incredible item that combines domination and soul control to an unparalleled degree. When the orb is released, it can make nearly any level of powerful being instantly submit and obey!”

At the crucial moment, the auctioneer dramatically lifted the red cloth covering the object.

Revealed was a smooth, round crystal orb of a seductive pink hue, with an inner, shimmering multicolored glow. It was somewhat similar in shape to the 【Demon God’s Gem】 but about two-thirds their size. It might seem slightly small as a gem on a staff’s top, but it is perfectly suited for holding and admiring.

As the treasure was unveiled, the auctioneer’s voice rose to an almost hoarse, fervent shout:

“The final highlight of today’s auction, the 【Bewitching Orb】, starts at 300 million Sacred Light Coins!”

“Now, let the bidding begin!!!!”