Chapter 322: Chapter 320 - Big Auction (Make up 13 updates)_1
For the next ten or so days, Fang Xi spent his nights cultivating and refining Qi in the meditation room of the Guest Welcome Building, and his days leisurely strolling about, purchasing various spiritual herbs and objects he needed.
His skills in arrays and talismans had reached the third order, but his alchemy skill was still lacking, primarily due to a shortage of various spiritual herbs and pill recipes.
However, after arriving in Yuan Country, the resources for immortal cultivation were much more abundant, and he was fairly confident he could further improve his alchemy skill.
During this period, Fang Xi ambitiously visited various individual cultivator stalls, hoping to use his own discernment and the technique of the Purple Gas Heavenly Eye to find an overlooked treasure.
Unfortunately, whether it was due to his own lack of destiny or not, he still came up with nothing.
These individual cultivators were all quite shrewd. Aside from peddling fake goods to cheat and deceive, they would tightly hold onto anything of uncertain value and dare to ask for sky-high prices.
After several attempts, Fang Xi quenched the thought of finding such a bargain.
After all, the unpleasant consequences brought about by his last find were not exactly fond memories.
...
On this day, as dawn was just breaking, the Hovering Mountain Market became extremely bustling.
A large number of immortal cultivators were arriving, either riding Escape Light, spiritual beasts, flying chariots... and entering the market.
Among these cultivators, Qi Refining cultivators were extremely rare, most were at the Foundation Establishment stage, and Core Formation cultivators were not uncommon.
Bang!
Accompanied by a clear and melodious bell sound, a flash of light erupted from within the meditation room, and Fang Xi stepped out.
At this moment, he was wearing a hat with a veil hanging down on all sides, concealing his face, giving off quite the air of a cultivation-robber.
However, there were plenty of immortal cultivators dressed similarly around him, so he did not stand out.
"The Sky Mountain Big Auction is finally about to begin."
Fang Xi muttered to himself, following the crowd to the outside of the auction venue.
"Welcome, esteemed senior..."
The guards at the door were surprisingly two Foundation Establishment cultivators, both of whom were at the late stages of Foundation Establishment.
After scanning him with their divine consciousness and finding Fang Xi’s cultivation unfathomable, they became much more respectful and checked his token, "Senior, you are in Yi No. 16 room, please this way!"
Fang Xi entered the big auction venue and saw that the first floor was filled with individual seats, while the second floor had several private boxes.
Various prohibition lights were flashing back and forth, almost dazzling.
’I wonder if such a big auction will have a Nascent Soul heavy-hitter present...’
He murmured in his heart, made his way to the second floor, found his box, opened the prohibition with his token, and walked in.
Suddenly, everything went quiet!
The noise of the auction house was completely isolated by the walls’ prohibitions.
The decoration inside the box was very simple, with just a table and a chair, serving only spiritual tea and spirit fruits.
Fang Xi sat in the chair, closing his eyes to rest his mind, content to wait for the start of the auction.
He didn’t know how much time had passed.
Suddenly, a clear gong sound rang out.
Fang Xi opened his eyes and saw that on the high stage at the center of the auction, an elderly figure wearing a purple robe with a gaunt appearance had appeared.
This elder’s eyes were sharp as lightning, and anyone swept by his gaze felt a sense of reverence rise within them.
"It’s Old Man Tian Sha!"
"This person is a Perfect Core Formation cultivator... and one of the few amongst the individual cultivators in Yuan Country that should not be provoked..."
"I didn’t expect that Green Leaf would manage to invite him..."
The surrounding cultivators whispered among themselves, and Fang Xi captured their words with his divine consciousness.
This let him know that this ’Old Man Tian Sha’ had been famous for nearly three hundred years and possessed several formidable combat divine skills, making him almost the number one Core Formation cultivator in Yuan Country.
’No wonder I feel a bit awed, indeed he is a powerhouse among those in Core Formation... what a pity, his long life is no longer ahead...’
Fang Xi silently reflected.
All fame is empty, only a long life is real.
He didn’t even need to use his Kuyong Skills to know that this person’s end was near, that his physical body was declining, and he had no chance to ascend to a Nascent Soul.
Possibly for this reason, he had to consider the future of his descendants and accept the recruitment and employment of the Green Leaf Commerce Association.
"This auction will be personally overseen by myself..."
Old Man Tian Sha looked around the room, his voice as rough as a cracked gong.
However, the cultivators didn’t mind these things; it was more important that his cultivation was sufficient to keep the venue under control.
"Alright, no more nonsense... we shall begin with the first auction item now!"
With a clap from Old Man Tian Sha, a group of ten maids came forward, each carrying a tray, and on each tray was a jade bottle containing a single azure-blue pill.
"Foundation Establishment Pills, ten in total, starting at three thousand spirit stones each! Let’s begin with the first set."
No sooner had Old Man Tian Sha finished speaking than someone eagerly called out a bid.
After all, Foundation Establishment Pills are a necessity for any force and can never be too plentiful.
Within a certain ’A’ section box.
"Who would’ve thought this Old Man Tian Sha would condescend to such a degree, indeed a big surprise for all of us..."
Bi the old ghost, Yan Ruyu, and a few other Golden Core members of the commerce association sat together, looking down at the ongoing auction below.
As Golden Core members of the commerce association, their presence in the private booths naturally marked them as guests.
Bi, the old ghost, felt somewhat sentimental, "That Old Man Tian Sha is always so proud and aloof, I really don’t know why he would..."
"It’s obviously because his end is nearing, yet he’s plagued by a bunch of worthless descendants and disciples; he can only seek our commerce association’s protection. It’s a pity... Although Old Man Tian Sha’s cultivation is sufficient, his skill in hosting the auction and heating up the atmosphere is still a bit rusty..."
Another red-faced burly man shook his head regretfully.
"Hehe... It doesn’t matter much, little sister has already spotted the Core Formation Cultivators from the Mixed Origin Sect and the Blood Sect. When these two groups collide, a three-feet wave will surge even without wind..." Yan Ruyu chuckled seductively, "Little sister also intentionally arranged their private booths a bit closer together..."
"Haha, Fairy Yu is truly astute," they all praised with admiration.
"Fairy Yu, since you’re here, which treasures have caught your eye?" Bi’s double pupils flickered as he suddenly asked, "Could it be that you’re also here for that final item?"
"Of course not, I’m just interested in a Spiritual Pill..."
Yan Ruyu’s smile remained unchanged, "Although I’m also very interested in that final item, my assets... are hardly sufficient..."
...
Inside the private booth.
Fang Xi yawned out of boredom.
After the auction of the first ten Foundation Establishment Pills, a series of pill, array talismans, and instruments took turns coming up, all rare items from the outside world, fetching handsome prices.
In between, there were also puppets and monster beast eggs, and other special items.
Unfortunately, ever since his visit to the secret realm of the Primitive Devil Door, very few spiritual objects could grab Fang Xi’s interest anymore.
"A third-rank, medium-quality treasure—Sharp Gold Ring!"
Just then, Old Man Tian Sha below was introducing a treasure that was shimmering with golden light.
"This ring is primarily forged from ’Western Extreme White Gold’ and mixed with a bit of ’Mysterious Iron Essence’... Its sturdiness is absolutely among the top ranks within the realm of treasures... Imbued with several marvelous prohibitions, it serves both offense and defense and is a rare fine product. The starting bid is 300,000 Spirit Stones!"
Clearly, only Core Formation Cultivators could afford such a treasure.
"It’s actually this treasure, haha, it just so happens to be the perfect fit for my needs... I’ll bid 310,000 Spirit Stones!"
A robust voice emanated from one of the booths.
"310,000 Spirit Stones? Could it be that the Mixed Origin Sect has lost several spirit stone mines, prompting a cut in the offerings to the Core Formation Elders? Hehe... I’ll bid 400,000 Spirit Stones!"
An ominous voice suddenly came from another booth.
"Blood Sect Protector—Luo Gan! You are also here," the robust voice carried a mix of shock and anger.
"Ahem..."
Old Man Tian Sha coughed once, his perfect Core Formation Spiritual Power continuously spreading through the auction hall.
Even around the auction stage, pillars of crimson light shot into the sky, each filled with countless prohibitory runes flashing, looking quite extraordinary.
"During the auction, no matter your origin, both of you should not disturb the other guests," Old Man Tian Sha said calmly.
"The Skyfire Quadruple Killing Array... fine, very well... I bid 410,000 Spirit Stones!" the robust big man said fiercely.
"450,000," Luo Gan immediately raised the bid.
The rest of the Core Formation Cultivators, not wanting to get involved in the feud between the two major sects, seemed to give up on bidding for this auction altogether.
Soon, the bidding for the ’Sharp Gold Ring’ treasure skyrocketed between the two, reaching a high price of 500,000 Spirit Stones.
"510,000 Spirit Stones. If you bid any higher, I will graciously concede this treasure to you," the robust voice said with determination, and Fang Xi could almost picture the image of a man with bloodshot eyes.
"Hehe... Since Brother Zhang you appreciate it so much, I’ll let you have it. Haha... though I wonder if you actually have that many Spirit Stones on you," Luo Gan’s voice could be heard.
Clearly, this price had already exceeded the value of a typical third-rank, medium-quality treasure; if he continued bidding, he might very well end up with the treasure in his own hands.
And since his cultivation technique was not of the metal attribute, owning this treasure would truly only lead to it collecting dust.
Therefore, he chose to take what he could get.
"Hmph, you need not worry about that, just bring the treasure up to the booth for the transaction," the Zhang-surnamed Cultivator retorted coldly, seemingly a bit frustrated.
After all, his beloved treasure was bid up to such a high price, costing him quite a bit.
...
"Well then... The next item is also considered the finale of this grand auction— one Mysterious Broken Qing Pill. It can aid those in the early stages of Core Formation to break through bottlenecks; the starting price is 400,000 Spirit Stones, with each bid increment no less than 1,000 Spirit Stones," Old Man Tian Sha said, beaming as a maid presented a tray bearing the very pill provided by Fang Xi!
"What? Is it that kind of pill?"
Inside the booths, many Core Formation Cultivators stood up abruptly, their faces glowing with fervent excitement.
After forming their core, advancing in magic power becomes even more difficult, with many stagnating for decades or even hundreds of years without advancement.
In Yuan Country, the majority of Core Formation Cultivators linger in the early phase, making this pill highly practical and fervently sought after.
Fang Xi watched as its price climbed steadily, and it was finally auctioned off for a whopping 680,000 Spirit Stones by a magnetic-voiced cultivator, whose gender was indistinct— possibly that female Cultivator surnamed Yan.
However, whether the other party would achieve their desire was not Fang Xi’s concern.